Spidey Tot
by KevyGrayce
Summary: Tony Stark is convinced by his family friend Obadiah Stane to adopt a kid in order to improve the tarnished image of Stark Industries. The media always loves a soft, single dad, so it's perfect to get the PR they need. What he doesn't expect is to bring home a kind-hearted, intelligent, four-year-old kid named Peter who slowly gets him to come out of his egocentric shell.
1. Good Life Choices

**Notes: **Hey everyone! Welcome back to any readers from my previous multi-chap fic and welcome to anyone who happens to stumble upon this! I had a lot of fun writing this story and it didn't take me as nearly as long as eight months this time.

This story is going to have a lot of twists and turns, but also a lot of bonding and growth between Tony and Peter. Not just Tony and Peter bonding, but also character development between Tony and Pepper as well as Rhodey. We love a family :') It'll be updated every Friday!

I'm so happy to be back (even though I wasn't gone for very long) and I can't wait to hear your feedback! I hope you all enjoy reading the story as much as I did writing it! Have fun and stay safe❤ 💛💚💙💜

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Chapter One: Good Life Choices

Tony Stark: genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. The owner and CEO of Stark Industries, a multinational company that produces innovative weapons to supply to the United States Armed Forces. After inheriting it from the interim CEO and family friend Obadiah Stane after his father Howard Stark's passing, Tony turned it into a monopoly of highly advanced weapons. However, Tony is about to add another title to that long-winded introduction: adoptive father. Not entirely by his choice, either.

"Explain to me again why we're pulling this insane stunt?" Tony questions Obadiah next to him. "If I didn't trust you this much I would've called you crazy and fired you. I _ shouldn't _trust you this much," he grumbles with his arms crossed.

"Just relax, it'll be perfect," Obadiah assures. "The cold-hearted player Tony Stark adopts a kid! In their words, obviously. Not mine. Then, you're in every newspaper! The topic of every headline! Stocks will go up again, investors will come flooding in, and everything'll go back to normal." Tony scoffs at his friend's nonchalant tone and turns to fully in the pleather look at him.

"Then what? We just release it into the wild? Last time I checked, a toddler doesn't come with a damn gift receipt," he whispers harshly so that the social worker in the other room doesn't hear their arguing. It's not like what they're doing is ethical, per se. Obadiah shrugs his shoulders casually.

"No, but if things…aren't working out," he smiles slyly, "then who's going to blame us for wanting to return the kid to get him in a home better suited for him? Look, Tony, we only need this to work long enough to get the media back on your side, right? We don't want the entire business your father built from the ground up to crumble away just at some, some bad press." Tony sighs and rubs his hands over his face.

"This is different. This is a living, breathing…_ thing. _ Pepper's right, she always says how I can barely take care of myself. How would I take care of a _ kid?" _Just the idea of having a small, fragile human running through the mansion without remorse is more than he can handle. Obadiah clasps a firm, comforting hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Leave that to me and Pepper. You have nothing to worry about, my boy. This kid isn't going to be a problem. His background is spotless." Tony's disbelieving eyes narrow.

"He's a toddler, not a convict," he counters. Obadiah simply waves him off.

"You'd be surprised what some of these orphans have gone through. Don't want you getting a messed up kid. But, that does mean you have to stay away from the alcohol for awhile. No alcohol, like we promised the lawyers and adoption agency. You get the kid taken away and our chances are as good as gone." Tony nods begrudgingly.

"Yeah, yeah. That's not gonna be difficult since you made me throw all my bottles out," he mutters. His nerves are already shot and he hasn't even met the kid yet. He saw pictures, yeah, but Obadiah was the one who met the kid whenever it was required. From what Obadiah has told Tony, the kid is apparently the most easygoing of the lot. Tony just wishes he could remember the kid's name. _ Goddamnit, Stark. You could memorize the periodic table and radioactive isotopes at ten years old, but can't remember a four-year-old's name? Fantastic. _

"Did you remember to bring your social security number?" Obadiah interrupts Tony's self-critical thoughts. Tony pulls a small slip of paper out of his inner coat pocket.

"Yep," he affirms, popping the "p" and handing the paper to Obadiah. "Managed to get Pepper to write it down for me. She was skeptical as all hell. I hope you realize that you're the one who gets to explain this to her. I'm not dealing with her yelling or her scolding." Tony takes in a deep, steadying breath.

"Don't sweat it. Everything's going to work like a charm," Obadiah reassures like he has many times before. Tony snorts, but nods anyway.

"Sure thing, Obi." He leans back in the uncomfortable chair and the two wait in forced silence until one of the orphanage workers comes back through the doors.

"Hello, gentlemen," the woman patiently greets. She hasn't been too thrilled about the rushed process, but Tony passed all the background checks and house visits, so everything that money can't buy is going well. "It seems like everything with the social worker is going well. As everything is being finalized, would you like to see your…_ kid, _ Mr. Stark?" If Tony didn't know any better, he'd think the woman emphasized the word "kid" just to throw him off. Well, Tony doesn't know any better. And he's thoroughly thrown off. He knew he was adopting a kid, that much had sunk in. But the fact that this kid was going to be _ his kid _ and he was going to be a legal _ father _ is what makes him want to run.

"Uh," he quickly clears his throat, "yes, of course." He immediately stands and straightens out his minutely wrinkled suit. He follows the woman towards a door, then notices Obadiah not following. When he looks back, he sees the man sitting back in his seat.

"Some things you have to do on your own. Good luck." Obadiah turns his attention to his phone again. Tony rolls his eyes, but follows the woman nonetheless.

"It's…Brenda, right? Debbie?" Tony asks as they walk through the bland, light blue halls.

"Amanda."

"Right! Amanda. Lovely name," Tony sweet talks, trying to lighten the mood.

"The boy's name is Peter, if you forgot that, too," Amanda bluntly states as she turns a corner. Tony quickly follows.

"Of course not." He would sound more confident if he weren't lying, but then again lying is his specialty. Well, he prefers calling it misdirection. When they reach another door, this one covered in a multitude of colorful stickers, Amanda takes a deep breath and turns to Tony.

"Are you absolutely sure that you want to go through with this. You go through that door, there's no going back. You walk in there to see Peter, and you are going to have to take care of him. Got that?" she probes, her eyes unwavering. Tony swallows dryly, but ultimately nods. He trusts Obadiah…enough. Amanda stares Tony down for a few more seconds, then opens the door.

The room isn't too big, but it's big enough for a few play sets, stuffed animals, a couple books, and one of those toy cars you see in every doctor's office for kids to drive. The tiled floor is covered in soft, foam mats with letters of the alphabet and correlating pictures for each letter. Across the room is a little boy who either hasn't noticed the new visitors or isn't acknowledging them. Either way, Tony is frozen.

Peter is lying on his stomach with his chin held up by one hand and a book propped up with the other. He has some sort of stuffed animal tucked underneath his chest, but far enough for Tony to still see the overalls the kid is wearing.

"Go ahead. I'll be waiting right here," Amanda informs, shutting the door behind them. She waits at the door as Tony slowly makes his way towards the hyper focused little boy. Tony carefully walks on the foam mats, afraid that if he makes a noise too loud he'll scare the poor kid. _ God, I'm not cut out for this. I'm gonna kill Obi, _ Tony thinks as he approaches Peter. At first, Tony isn't sure how he's supposed to initiate conversation, so he just stands by the kid awkwardly with his hands shoved in his pockets. He clears his throat, hoping to get the kid's attention. It doesn't.

"Hello," he says carefully.

"Hi." Peter's response is immediate, but he doesn't look up from his book.

"What are you, uh, reading?" Tony glances back to Amanda after his question, but she just gestures for him to kneel. Reluctantly, Tony raises his pant legs slightly to allow him to crouch.

"Hungry Catapidder," Peter answers, turning a page. When he does so, he gets to his knees in order to show Tony the page he's on. "See! He's gonna eat it!" Peter exclaims as he points to the bright red, illustrated apple. Then, he sloppily flips through the pages to show off a butterfly with multicolored wings. "Now he's a pretty butterfly!" Tony nods perceptively and tries to keep the kid content.

"That's a nice book," Tony observes, attempting to be as casual as possible.

"It's my faborite! He's floofy," Peter justifies, turning the pages back to where he was reading before. Tony nods, not quite knowing how to keep the conversation going.

"What's your name?" he decides to ask, even though he already knows.

"Peter. Sometimes Miss Manda calls me Petey." Peter lays down on his stomach again with his feet lightly kicking in the air behind him. Tony straightens at the mundane introduction. He can do introductions. He has been doing mundane business introductions for as long as he can remember.

"Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Tony Stark." Tony wonders what he did wrong as soon as Peter's feet stop moving and the kid tenses.

"Sorry," the kid mumbles shyly, throwing Tony for a loop. "Peter Pawker," he amends. Tony notices that Peter seems to have a speech impediment if there are too many r's in a row.

"Why are you sorry?" Tony asks, confused by Peter's logic. Then again, the kid is four years old. Peter closes his book and sits criss-cross-applesauce to face Tony.

"Big names means we can't smile. It's serious time," Peter explains as if his logic is universal. He sits patiently, staring up at Tony with wide, expectant brown eyes.

"You mean…full names?" Tony clarifies. _ What in the world has this kid gone through? _ Peter nods, his eyes unwavering. "Oh, well, then you can just call me Tony. No…big names," Tony reassures, causing Peter's face to brighten back up.

"I can call you Tomy?!" the kid asks excitedly.

"Actually, it's _ Tony," _ Tony enunciates better so that Peter can understand. The four-year-old nods over and over.

"Thanks, Tomy! I get to keep playing?!" Tony glances back to Amanda, then nods to Peter. Peter immediately jumps to his feet and haphazardly runs to some of the stuffed animals. As he picks up an armload of stuffed animals, Tony watches intently. How in the world is he supposed to take care of another human being? He quickly reminds himself of what Obadiah told him: that it's all only temporary. Peter waddles back towards Tony with an uneven tower of stuffed animals, some trailing behind him as the fall off the top.

"So," Tony continues as Peter hands him the different fluffy toys, "how old are you?" If he continues the casual conversation, it'll be easier to get it all over with, he reasons. Peter smiles and drops the rest of the toys.

"I'm," he counts his fingers before breaking out into a smile, _"this _ many!" The boy holds up four of his fingers towards Tony excitedly.

"Four," Tony confirms carefully. He doesn't want to somehow hurt the kid's feelings.

"Mhm!" Peter then keeps playing with the stuffed animals.

"Mr. Stark," Amanda suddenly calls. Tony turns around, trying not to show how uncomfortable he is by talking to a toddler while holding a stuffed tiger.

"I'll be right back, okay Peter?" At Tony's words, Peter's head whips up. The boy's expression drops into a frown and his eyes become slightly glossy.

"You're going bye-bye?" he asks quietly, biting his bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

"No no no," Tony immediately says, "I just have to go talk to Amanda, alright?" He can't handle a crying kid. That's the last thing he needs to deal with right now. Tony Stark doesn't do emotions, especially those of other people. Before Peter can open his mouth, Tony rushes over to Amanda.

"So?" Amanda asks quietly, seemingly unimpressed.

"I'll…take him." Tony isn't exactly sure how he's supposed to say he wants to adopt the kid. With a deep, stabilizing breath, Amanda composes herself.

"You need to sign a consent form, which the agency supplies. That'll finalize everything, once all the legal requirements are met. I believe Mr. Stane took care of all that, however. All we'll need are the completed forms," Amanda recites in a monotone voice. It's probably well rehearsed.

"I can do that. Do I, y'know," Tony prompts before clearing his throat. Usually he's overly confident and bombastic about everything, but kids are way out of his element.

"Bring Peter? Yes. He's going to be your responsibility, afterall." Of course she's trying to jab that in as much as possible, but Tony can't blame her. It's her job. Tony nods, avoiding eye contact, and walks back over to Peter.

"Tomy! You're back!" Peter enthusiastically hops to his feet. "Can, can I have chicken, chicken nuggets? And ketchup? Please?" he asks as he spins in a circle. Tony watches in utter confusion as the kid stares at the ground as he spins.

"Sure, when we get home." This causes Peter to stop and look up at him.

"We are home," Peter says as if it's blatantly obvious.

"No, _ my _ home," Tony clarifies.

"Oh…" It doesn't seem like the information sinks in, so Tony watches Peter for a reaction. "Is Miss Manda coming with us?" Peter fiddles with his fingers. Tony tries to stay patient since he'll need a lot of it for the next few months. Hopefully it's only a few.

"No, she's staying here. You're coming to stay with me. Okay?" Peter looks up to meet Tony's eyes, then looks back down.

"M'kay, Tomy." Peter inches forward and holds out his hand. Tony doesn't know what to do at first, then realizes that he's supposed to take the kid's hand. Reluctantly, Tony holds Peter's small, slightly cold hand in his much bigger one. They exit the room together, Amanda trailing behind them, until the reach the reception room where Obadiah is still waiting.

"We're back. Watch Peter while I-"

"Obi!" Peter suddenly exclaims, letting go of Tony's hand to rush over to Obadiah.

"Woah! Look who it is! Hey, Squirt," Obadiah greets as he picks Peter up and sits him on his knee. Tony raises a curious eyebrow at how close they got after just a few visits.

"You were gone foreber!" Peter exaggerates, throwing his head back which causes his loose, brown curls to bounce. "When you were gone I got to have my own room and eberything!"

"Well, Tony and I had to take care of some business. But don't worry, we won't be letting you out of our sight." Obadiah laughs and nods to Tony to go fill out the remaining paperwork. _ For this just being a publicity stunt, Obi seems pretty invested, _ Tony distantly observes as he walks up to the receptionist.

Halfway through signing all the agreements, Tony's phone starts to buzz. Usually he would use his phone as a means to escape boring meetings, but he decides a good impression is important for adopting a human being. By the time the paperwork is complete, he realizes he made a mistake when he sees the missed texts are from Pepper.

**Pep Potts**

Pepper:_ Where are you? _

Pepper:_ Tony answer me _

Pepper:_ I had to go to three briefings without you _

Tony: _ I'm out. _

Pepper:_ Out where _

Tony: _ With Obi. _

Pepper:_ Oh no what are you two doing _

Pepper:_ I swear if you're doing something stupid _

Tony: _ Don't worry about it Pep _

Tony: _ We'll be home soon _

Pepper:_ It's my job to worry! _

Pepper:_ You have meetings today Tony. _

Pepper:_ Meetings that I can't reschedule or delay more than you've already made me. _

Pepper:_ You have to fly out next Monday to Dubai! _

Tony: _ Yeah about that, you might have to delay them a bit longer _

Pepper:_ No _

Pepper:_ No no Tony what did you do _

Tony: _ Oh you're gonna love it _

Tony: _ See you soon xx _

Tony feels his phone vibrate after that, but he chooses to ignore it. Instead, he confidently walks back into the waiting room and nods affirmatively to Obadiah. So far, everything is going according to plan.

"Alright, Peter, time to go," Tony announces. Peter looks up at Tony and simply waits for what he's supposed to do. In order to show Amanda that he's capable of being a parent, even if only momentarily, he picks Peter up and sits him on his hip. Peter instinctively links his hands behind Tony's neck and allows Tony to carry him out of the building. The fancy car out front immediately transforms Peter's demeanor.

"Is that a race car?!" Peter questions, kicking his feet with excitement. "I see them on da telebision. They go super duper fast and make cool noises!" Tony does his best to hold onto the squirming toddler as well as avoid being kicked in the gut by the small sneakers.

"Easy there," Tony warns. He can definitely see how the car looks like a race car to the kid, though, it being a Rolls Royce Phantom. The kid probably hasn't ever seen anything like it before. Typically, Tony drives a streamline, two-seater, but he unfortunately needed a back seat for Peter. Even more unfortunate, neither Tony nor Obadiah brought a car seat specifically for a toddler. "Let's get you buckled," Tony offers awkwardly as he stiffly places Peter in his seat.

"I get to sit in a big kid seat?!" Peter starts to bounce out of pure excitement at the thought.

"Yeah, but you have to be careful and sit still during the ride. Understand?" Tony makes sure his point gets across by making eye contact with the jittery four-year-old. When Peter nods, Tony starts buckling him in. The last thing they need is to be pulled over by cops, even though Tony could talk his way out of it.

"I can almost do da buckle myself," Peter says proudly as he points to the buckle that the metal prong slips into and locks.

"Good job." Tony tries to sound upbeat, but he's pretty sure his nerves are beyond shot. If only he could look forward to having a drink.

"Tomy?" Peter asks out of nowhere just as Tony finished strapping him in. "How long am I gonna sleep over?"

"With us?" Tony isn't sure that he understands. Peter simply nods, his bottom lip sticking out ever so slightly. "Well, I adopted you. So, as long as you want to." That about sums it up, right? Nothing too convoluted.

"Oh…what does adopt mean?" Peter's cheeks get slightly red with embarrassment, which comes across as surprisingly cute.

"It means that I'm going to be…" _your_ _dad,_ would've been the truthful answer. But that's too personal. Tony definitely doesn't want Peter calling him dad, father, papa, pops, or any other variation. "The person who takes care of you," he decides on instead. It's not a lie, that's exactly what Tony is going to be doing; taking care of Peter. With Obadiah's help, of course.

"M'kay," Peter quickly agrees before beginning to swing his legs back and forth. Tony still doesn't think Peter fully understands, but they have plenty of time to work it out. To be honest, he isn't worried about the kid so much as he is about Pepper's reaction to said kid. With a stressed out sigh, Tony shuts the back door and gets in the driver's seat before starting their trip back to the Malibu mansion.

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Thank you for reading and get ready for a WILD ride ❤ 💛💚💙💜

Twitter: Kevy_Fanfics & kevy_grayce  
Insta: kevy_fanfics & KevyGrayce


	2. The Quest for Nuggets

**Notes**:

WOW hey everyone, this updating schedule i g. I know it's good since it'll make the story last longer but a week feels like FOREVER. That's gonna suck for you when we get to the cliffhangers,,,

Anywhoooo, we get to see Pepper's reaction today! Tony's still a jerk but we been knew. He'll get better eventually...maybe😇 Gotta wait for the character development! Have fun and stay safe❤ 💛💚💙💜

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Chapter Two: The Quest for Nuggets

The drive to the mansion takes all of ten minutes, but that's without traffic or a toddler kicking the back of your seat. So to Tony, it feels like an eternity. Peter kicks Tony's seat in front of him as he absentmindedly sings.

"Ol' McDonald had a farm, E, I, E, I, O. And on dat farm he hadda cow, E, I, E, I, O. With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo there a moo, eberywhere a moo moo," Peter continues to sing, only adding to Tony's oncoming headache. Tony drums his thumbs on the steering wheel impatiently. He wants nothing more than to turn the radio on to drown out the kid's singing, but he doesn't want to deal with waterworks either. "Tomy, don't you wanna sing with me?" Peter asks without stalling his kicks.

"No thank you," Tony politely answers. He doesn't want to get frustrated so soon. _ It's just a few months, it's just a few months, _ he repeats in his head to keep himself sane.

"How come?" Peter asks, obviously disappointed.

"I'm not a singer." Tony leaves it at that and hopes that the answer is satisfactory enough. Of course, it isn't for Peter.

"Eberybody can sing, Tomy. You just gotta try. I can sing with you!" Peter offers with a wide smile. Tony sighs and rubs his temple with his free hand.

"No, Peter," he reiterates. Obadiah stays silent in the passenger seat, typing on his phone as Tony tries to keep the kid in check. Peter lowers his head sadly, which Tony can see him do in the rearview mirror, and continues to swing his feet back and forth. Tony's stomach immediately twists with guilt, but he decides saying nothing would be the best choice. They sit in silence until Peter speaks up again.

"Tomy?" he calls quietly.

"Yeah?" Tony just has to stay patient and eventually the kid will stop talking, right? Is that how kids work?

"Are we getting chicken nuggets?" Peter glances back up, looking hopeful.

"Uh, sure. We'll order some at the mansion," Tony agrees noncommittally, but he just says it to keep Peter from asking again. Instead, he gets an unexpected reaction in the form of Peter's wide eyes.

"We're gonna be in a mansion?!" Peter squeals with excitement, causing both Obadiah and Tony to jump. The car swerves slightly before Tony recovers.

"What the f-" He quickly composes himself and takes a slow breath. "Peter, let's use our indoor voice, okay?" he says, his voice tight and firm. Peter's smile immediately drops at Tony's tone. He interlocks his fingers and places his hands on his lap.

"Sorry, Tomy," he quietly apologizes with a wobbly voice. No, Tony can't deal with tears. He definitely can't deal with tears.

"Hey, it's okay. We just wanna stay safe, right? Remember what I said?" he tries again. This time, his approach is much softer. Peter sniffs, but no tears fall, and he nods.

"Be careful," he repeats.

"Good," Tony praises, turning his attention back to the road. He notices Obadiah giving him a side glance, then looks to his phone again. Peter stays quiet for the rest of the ride.

When they arrive at the massive, cliffside mansion, Peter has his face pressed against the window in mere seconds. His breath fogs up the glass and his hands create smear marks as he steadies himself.

"Look! It's like, like a castle! I read about those in my books! That's where da princesses are! Are we gonna meet a princess? Or a dragon?! Dragons are always by da castles!" he exclaims. Tony glances between Peter and the road, anxious about both the kid flying out the window and getting slobber all over his pristine window. "And there's da beach!" Peter yells, even more excited. Finally, they drive down the driveway ramp to the garage where Tony no longer has to worry about legality.

"We're in way over our heads," Tony mutters, the anxiety seeping into his voice.

"Relax. I've never lead you astray, right? It's going to go fi-" Before Obadiah can say the word "fine," Tony frustratedly interrupts him.

_ "No, _ Obi, it's not. I can't do this. This isn't-" Obadiah is the one to interrupt Tony this time.

"Oh yeah? You're going to what? Drive all the way back to the agency and give him back? Imagine the headlines when the press hears about that," Obadiah challenges, undoubtedly making a good point. Now that everything is finalized, Tony is unfortunately at an impasse. He rakes his hands through his hair.

"You wanna…gib me back?" Tony whips around to face the kid. Peter looks caught between being confused and tearing up. _ Shit, what do I do? _Tony frantically thinks.

"Of course not, Squirt," Obadiah effectively assures instead. "Tony wouldn't do anything like that, right?" He looks to Tony with a knowing smile.

"Not at all," Tony confirms. He just hopes he isn't going to regret his words. Obadiah's smile widens and he claps his hands together.

"Alright then! Ready to head in?" Peter nods his head enthusiastically and tries to pull on his door, even though it's locked.

"Hold on," Tony orders gently before stepping out of the car. He unlocks all the doors and holds Peter's open so the kid can hop to the ground.

"Where're we going?" Peter asks curiously as he takes the nearest grown up's hand out of instinct, which happens to be Tony's. The man doesn't think he'll ever get used to that.

"Well, we're going up. We ride the elevator to the main floor past the workshop," Tony explains, leading them towards the elevator.

"Woah, you work at your home?" Peter questions in awe.

"Sometimes." Tony decides to leave it at that. He doesn't want to get into a conversation with a four-year-old about how he runs a weapons company. "Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S.," he greets the AI casually.

"Good afternoon, Sir. Would you like me to alert Ms. Potts that you have arrived? She has been looking for you." Peter looks around for the disembodied voice, his eyes wide.

"Nah, we'll surprise her. No one yells like Pepper does," Tony quips. When they reach the elevator, however, Peter pulls back on Tony's hand. Peter is nowhere near strong enough to stop Tony, but it's enough to get Tony's attention. Tony turns around and raises an eyebrow at the kid. "What's wrong?"

"What's that?" Peter stares at the open elevator, still trying to pull Tony away from it.

"That's an elevator… You've never seen one?" Peter shakes his head. "Ever rode in one?" Peter shakes his head again. "Great. Uh, I promise it's not scary. Alright? First time for everything. C'mon, we've got things to do." Tony walks straight into the elevator without the intent to stop.

"No! No I don't wanna! No!" Regardless of Peter's effort to stop him, they both end up in the elevator. When Obadiah gets in after them, the doors shut and he presses the up arrow on the control panel. Both men are oblivious to Peter's sudden panic as soon as the elevator begins to move. Peter immediately wraps his arms around Tony's leg, tightening his small fists and burying his face in the fabric. Tony just lets the toddler do his thing, unsure of what he should do in the awkward situation. He doesn't think anything of it until he notices the quick, hot breaths on his leg a few seconds later.

"You good, Peter?" he double checks. He doesn't start to panic until he doesn't get a response. "Peter," he says more forcefully. Peter only shakes his head and holds on tighter to the pant leg. "Obi." Tony urgently hits Obadiah's shoulder to get his attention and kneels down to Peter's level.

"Hm?" Obadiah responds, pocketing his phone.

"Talk to me. What's going on?" Tony whispers to Peter.

"No no no no," is all the boy says back as tears stream down his face. They were so close to being home without tears.

"He's probably claustrophobic. Maybe he just doesn't like elevators," Obadiah offers, perfectly calm. When the elevator doors open, Tony quickly gets the kid out so he has more breathing room. Peter instantly latches onto Tony's arm, them being the same height with Tony crouched.

"Better?" Tony asks, his throat dry.

"Don' like elebators." Peter starts to shake his head over and over. Tony hesitantly puts his hand on the top of Peter's head to get him to stop.

"Okay, alright, no more elevators. I promise," he reassures. Somehow the kid went from ecstatic to distraught in a matter of seconds, and now he won't let go. It's almost too much for Tony to follow.

"I'll go fill Pepper in, you order Peter some food. Kids need food to live, just so you know," Obadiah jokes as he exits the living room.

"Never woulda guessed!" Tony calls after him. "How's that sound, huh? Ya hungry?" Peter sniffs before removing his face from Tony's shoulder. His eyes are damp and bloodshot, but he nods.

"Chicken nuggets?" he mumbles. Tony immediately nods. Anything to get the kid to stop crying. If he's eating, he can't cry.

"Chicken nuggets." At Tony's confirmation, Peter wipes the tears from his eyes with his fists. "Do you still take naps?" Tony asks hopefully. An hour or two of peace and quiet would be amazing. Luckily, Peter nods.

"When da clock dings two times." Tony quickly looks at his watch and pales when he sees that it's almost 3:15. Way past nap time.

"That's okay. How about after food, we get you in a warm bed?" Tony offers. _ I can't believe this is happening. Please tell me this is a nightmare. _

"M'kay," Peter thankfully agrees. Now, Tony just has to order in the food and they'll be good to go.

"What do you mean it's _ alive?!" _ The sound of Pepper yelling is enough to make Tony's stomach drop. This isn't going to go well. Her voice and the clacking of her heels get louder as she walks towards the living room. "Tony has enough to focus on without having to take care of a dog or a cat or a-" She stops dead in her tracks when her eyes land on Peter. "Oh my god, there's a kid," she states in disbelief. The whole room goes silent. "This is a joke. _ Tell _ me this is a joke right now, Tony." Peter stares with wonder at the new woman as he holds onto Tony's pant leg. Tony, however, knows he's about to get his ass handed to him.

"Pepper, this is Peter," Tony introduces, not taking his eyes off her. Peter immediately looks up at Tony.

"Big names or little names?" the boy asks just in case.

"Little names," Tony stiffly approves. Peter waves and greets the woman saying,

"Hi, Miss Peppa." Pepper's face softens slightly. She looks between Peter and Tony, not quite sure whether to explode or hold her tongue. The silence continues with Pepper obviously fuming. She wants to chew Tony out, to scream and yell. But she chooses not to. She holds her tongue like she has for many years. She'll tear into him later, though, when Peter isn't around to hear it.

"Hi there, Peter," Pepper finally says. She walks forward and kneels in front of Peter with a comforting smile. He smiles back, albeit hesitantly as he hides behind Tony's leg. "You're more than welcome to call me Pepper. It's good to meet you. Are you hungry?"

"Tomy says we can get chicken nuggets," Peter answers while nodding.

"Of course we can. How about we go out to get them?" Pepper offers, eliciting more nods of affirmation from the boy. She stands, making intense eye contact with Tony. "And we're also going to do some shopping, since Peter needs things like _ food _ and _ clothes _ and _ toys," _ she emphasizes all the things she knows Tony hasn't considered.

"And books!" Peter chimes in.

"And books," Pepper agrees. She gives Tony a look that says they'll be talking about this later.

"Right, right. We should go do that," Tony also agrees and clears his throat. The last thing he wants to do is go shopping, but he can't get out of it now.

"His suitcase is in his new room," Obadiah cuts in. "You two have fun with that. I have some business to take care of." He pockets phone and walks past them to get back to the elevator.

"Wait, where are you going?" Tony quickly questions. They were all supposed to do this together. He doesn't want to spend all of his time watching over a toddler when he could be getting work done or out having a good time. It starts to kick in that maybe adopting a kid for PR wasn't the greatest idea.

"To work," Obadiah answers bluntly. "I didn't adopt him, you did. Your signature. With you two slackers out for the day, I have a company to run. Have fun, my phone's on if you need anything." He walks inside and waits for the elevator doors to close. "Oh and be sure to let me know where you're going." He winks, then leaves back down the elevator. Tony immediately knows what he means: Obadiah wants to tip off the paparazzi ahead of time so that people see him with the kid.

"Do you have a jacket in your suitcase?" Pepper asks Peter, ignoring Obadiah's disappearance.

"I do! And rain boots! They're new! I got them with Miss Manda!" Peter exclaims, happy to share the information with the two grown ups. Tony narrows his eyes in confusion.

"But it's not rai-"

"I'd _ love _to see your new rain boots," Pepper indulges with a sweet smile, quick to cut off Tony. Peter grins before grabbing onto Pepper's hand and happily yelling,

"Let's go!" Pepper laughs softly and leads him to his new room. When she opens the guest room door, which is apparently no longer going to be the guest room, it looks identical to what it had looked like prior. The only difference is that there's now a small backpack and suitcase placed on the bed. Peter quickly runs over to his suitcase and starts throwing out clothes in search for his jacket and rain boots.

"You brag about having all this money but don't redecorate his room? At all?" Pepper harshly whispers to Tony, who meanders behind.

"It wasn't exactly well planned, alright?" Tony mutters back at her.

"Not planned?!" Pepper seethes as quietly as she can. "Men are clueless," she huffs angrily, but makes sure she's smiling by the time Peter comes running back over.

"See! Look!" Peter holds up his rain boots that have black and yellow stripes, two large eyes on the toes, antennas sticking out behind the eyes, and small wings jutting out at the ankles. Bee rain boots. The epitome of cuteness. Pepper's heart practically melts, while Tony tries to hide his horror at the inevitable fashion disaster. _ He's just a kid, he's just a kid, he doesn't know any better, _ Tony repeats in his head to calm himself down.

"Those are perfect, Peter," Pepper compliments. "Get a jacket and then we can go." Peter does as he's told and quickly picks out a jacket, then sits on the floor to put on his boots.

"Do you need help putting those on?" Tony awkwardly offers as he holds his hands tightly clasped in front of him.

"Nope! Imma big boy," Peter assures. He struggles slightly to pull the left rain boot over his heel, but eventually slips it on. Once he has both on, he hops to his feet and rushes back over to Pepper. "I'm ready!"

"You are! Time to go," Pepper matches his enthusiastic energy.

"Wait! Can I bring my Captain Mamerica books?!" Peter's request causes Tony to grimace. _ Of course he likes Captain America. Who else would he like? _

"Of course," Pepper allows before Tony can decline.

"Even frozen at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean, everyone prefers that popsicle over me," Tony grumbles, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from Pepper.

After Peter gathers his comic books, the three of them walk into the main room again, but the kid stops in front of the elevator. Pepper is much more perceptive of Peter's hesitance and turns around to see the look of fear on the boy's face. "Are you okay?" Pepper asks, kneeling to his level.

"I don't like 'em. They, they make weird noises and, and they, then they do this thing where they make my tummy feel funny," Peter mumbles, looking down. Seeing the boy sad makes Pepper sigh, but she maintains her slight smile.

"Hey," she taps his chin so he looks up, "then we can use the stairs."

"Really?" Peter asks, hopeful.

"Really." Pepper pinches his rosy cheek lightly, making him smile. Then she lightly touches his sides, which causes him to burst out in a fit of giggles.

"No tickles! No tickles! Stop!" Peter manages to squeal between laughter. Tony stares at the two at a loss for words. He has no idea how Pepper is so good with Peter or how he'll ever make Peter laugh like that. He just has to…fake being good with kids. Yeah, fake it until you make it. Let the paparazzi see him being good with Peter and all their problems will be solved. Simple.

After a few more seconds of tickling, Pepper stops to let Peter catch his breath. Peter gasps, his smile still lingering.

"Ready to go down the stairs?" Pepper asks and Peter nods. "Alright, hold my hand, please." Peter does as he's told and they walk down the stairwell, past the workshop, and to the garage.

"How come you hab a waterfall inside?" Peter asks curiously as they walk to the car.

"Because it's pretty," Pepper answers patiently. "And because Tony has more money than he knows what to do with," she says in a quieter tone, more so for Tony to hear. Tony doesn't contribute to the conversation.

"Why'd that room have glass walls?" Peter points back towards the workshop. "Walls aren't supposed ta be see through."

"Sound can't get through, so it's super quiet. Not many people go down there, anyways," Pepper responds again. She looks back at Tony with hard eyes due to his silence. Tony looks away with a disinterested sniff. If Pepper wants to do all the hard work, then he isn't going to object.

"Why does Tomy need bunches of cars?" Peter stares at all the different makes and models of cars, mesmerized by them all.

"He doesn't really need them."

"Then why'd he get 'em all if he doesn't need 'em? Does he dribe them all? He can't dribe that many cars. Why did he do that?" Pepper opens the car door and, when she doesn't see so much as a booster seat, she stares back at Tony in disbelief.

"Because sometimes he doesn't use his brain," Pepper answers as nicely as possible. Peter giggles, somehow finding Pepper's comment funny.

"Uh oh, Tomy's in trouble," he says in a sing-song voice.

"When am I not?" Tony counters with a shrug of his shoulders.

"How about I sit in the back with you?" Pepper offers Peter, trying to keep her tone upbeat.

"M'kay!" Peter instantly agrees and climbs into the backseat. Pepper turns her pointed gaze on Tony again.

"You and I will be having words tonight," she promises. After she gets in, Tony rolls his eyes and mutters,

"Oh joy." He begrudgingly gets in the driver's seat and resists the urge to slam the door shut behind him.

Tony had thought that Peter singing "Old McDonald" in the car was a torturous experience, but it's nothing compared to both Pepper and Peter singing "The Wheels on the Bus." It feels like the tone deaf singing goes on forever until they fast food joint to pick up some chicken nuggets. Tony never enjoyed silence so much than the moment Peter stopped singing to eat.

"Where to now?" Tony questions Pepper as he pulls out of the drive-through.

"Goodwill," Pepper responds curtly. Tony snorts, glancing back at her through the rearview mirror.

"Excuse me?" he chuckles. "Sorry, I could've sworn you just said _ Goodwill. _Last time I checked, that place sells other people's garbage." Pepper takes a deep breath.

"I suggest you think twice about testing me right now." She keeps her tone light as to not upset Peter.

"Billionaires become billionaires so that they _ don't _ have to shop at places like _ Goodwill," _Tony states under his breath with disgust. Still, he unfortunately drives to the nearest Goodwill, which is too close for his comfort. Pepper gets out of the car first to make sure Peter gets out okay, then the three of them head inside.

"Tomy," a small voice calls. Tony looks down to see Peter reaching for his hand to hold. "We gotta hold hands around strangers. It's not safe." Tony glances up to Pepper, who raises both her eyebrows expectantly, then looks back to Peter.

"Thanks, but it'll be fine," he reassures lamely. Pepper shakes her head and starts walking towards the racks of clothing. "So, what kinda junk are we lookin' for? Hand-me-downs? Two year old juicer? Blanket with questionable stains?" Tony walks down a row of kids clothing, unimpressed. What kind of business can legally sell pre-owned items? There has to be some kind of sanitary law preventing it.

"I already told you. Clothes, toys, and books," Pepper repeats as she searches through the clothing racks. She stops when Peter gently taps her leg.

"Can I go look at toys? Please?" he asks, pointing towards the section of the store devoted to kids toys.

"Yeah, just stay where I can see you."

"Thanks, Peppa!" With that, he runs towards the toys and plops down on the carpet to play with them. As Pepper continues to search for clothes, Tony pulls out his phone to text Obadiah the address of where they're at.

"Are you going to get off your phone and help me pick out clothes for your kid?" Pepper questions impatiently without looking up from her task. Tony frowns disapprovingly at her phrasing.

"Don't put it like that."

"Like what, Tony? That truth? You can be so _ dense _ for being labeled a genius. You've done some pretty reckless things, but this is way out of line." She laughs humorlessly, almost as if she doesn't believe what's happening herself. Before Tony can retort, she pulls a sweater off the rack and thrusts it into his arms. "Hold this," she orders. Tony looks at the red, knitted sweater up and down and tries not to show his disgust.

"Lordy, what on Earth is this? It should be illegal. I think I saw a poodle in Beverly Hills wearing this," he comments distastefully. Pepper ignores his complaints and continues her search.

They spend around twenty minutes searching through the store for enough clothes, books, and toys to keep Peter content for a while. Pepper even finds a couple books on parenting and child development, which she's forcing Tony to get. When Tony notices the slightly dinghy toys that Peter picks out with a wide smile, he raises an eyebrow.

"Why am I buying these crappy, second hand toys when I can ship high end ones to the house?"he murmurs to Pepper.

"Trust me," she assures, "you could get a toddler a million dollars worth of toys and they'd still play with a cardboard box and bubble wrap." Tony isn't sure he understands, but he doesn't care enough to put everything back or be on the phone with toy companies all day. Kids are too high maintenance.

"Tomy?" There's a tug on Tony's pant leg. He looks down at Peter and raises an eyebrow. "Is it nap time yet?" _ Shit,_ Tony mentally berates himself, _ I forgot about the nap. _

"Almost. We'll go home after this and then you can sleep." What else is he supposed to say? It's not like he can make the checkout line move any faster.

_ "Tomy," _ Peter whines and stomps his feet a few times.

"Hey," Tony scolds. "None of that. I said we'd be home soon." He needs to have a firm hand otherwise kids won't listen, right? Yeah, that sounds about right. Instead, it has the opposite of the desired effect and Peter's eyes begin to glisten. "Pepper," Tony calls, unsurely. Pepper turns around and notices that Peter is on the verge of tears, but her arms are full of clothes and books.

"Comfort him," she orders like it's the most obvious thing in the world. To others, it might be. To Tony, it couldn't be more convoluted.

_ "How?!" _ he asks in disbelief. Tears fall from Peter's eyes and he raises his arms up towards Tony, his hands opening and closing. Tony knows what the boy wants, but he doesn't want to acknowledge it.

"For once in your life, put your ego second and pick him up," Pepper whispers, quickly losing her patience. Tony looks up at the ceiling and grinds his teeth together. Even though he wants to ignore the kid's grabby hands, he grabs Peter underneath his arms and hoists him onto his hip. Without hesitation, Peter wraps his arms around Tony's neck and lays his head down on Tony's shoulder. Tony tries to avert his gaze away from Peter at all costs, even if that means catching Pepper's eye.

"Was that so difficult?" she asks smugly.

"Yes," Tony answers honestly. He doesn't want a kid hanging off him and giving him back pain. _ How could anyone ever want kids? They're life suckers, _ he notes in his head.

By the time Pepper gets checked out at the register, Peter is sound asleep on Tony's shoulder. Of course he had to fall asleep. Tony's arm is already starting to get pins and needles from awkwardly holding the four-year-old and he's pretty sure he can feel the drool starting to soak through his suit jacket.

"I can drive so that you don't have to put Peter down," Pepper offers with a sly smile. They walk to the doors of the store, which look like they haven't been washed in ages. Tony can hardly see through them.

"God no. Less time with this urchin on my shoulder, the better. We're gonna have to get the suit dry cleaned after this," he gripes, slowly adjusting his hold as to not wake up Peter. Pepper opens the door for them.

"Well, I think y-" Pepper is cut off by the sounds of shouting, clicking cameras, and shuffling feet. Tony instantly feels Peter jolt awake and watches his eyes squint to block out the flashing lights. Between the chaotic shouts and influx of sensory input, Pepper can't react and Tony is speechless. He didn't expect so many of them. Peter buries his head in the side of Tony's neck and grips the back of his suit jacket. The only thing Tony can do is make the best out of the situation, just like he and Obadiah planned.

* * *

**Notes**:

Tony might be in horror of Peter's fashion choice, but we all know RDJ would be so proud. Thank you for reading!❤ 💛💚💙💜

If you'd like to keep up to date on upcoming fics and get sneak peeks, feel free to follow one of my accounts!  
Twitter: Kevy_Fanfics & kevy_grayce  
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	3. Building a Friend

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you're ready for your weekly dose of irresponsible not-dad Tony, overprotective Pepper, and adorable Peter! I was looking forward to this chapter because we get a new friend this chapter as you can probably tell by the title,,, prepare for both fluff AND angst today!

Have fun and stay safe❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

Chapter Three: Building a Friend

"Over here!"

"Mr. Stark!"

"Is it true you adopted a kid?!"

"What's his name?!"

"How long have you been keeping this from the world?!"

"Will he be the heir to Stark Industries?!"

The questions bombard them all at once, leaving them no room to speak or move. Tony knows he has to take charge if he wants to ever get back to the car, but it's also the perfect opportunity to show off how he can be protective the kid. People love to see a protective parent.

"Back off! Let us through!" he shouts, pushing his way through the crowd of people and camera flashes. Tony can feel Peter shaking in his arms and his small hands gripping the back of his neck. When they manage to get back to the car, Pepper tries to relieve Tony of Peter, but Tony keeps a firm hold on the kid. "You drive, I'll sit in back." Pepper looks hesitant, but ends up rushing to the driver's side. Tony slides into the backseat, careful not to let the paparazzi get a picture of the lack of a car seat, and shuts the door behind him. As soon as the door is closed, Pepper drives away from the hectic scene.

"How is he?" Pepper questions worriedly. Tony looks down as Peter clings to him, the boy's breaths quick.

"Uh…" Tony isn't exactly sure how to answer. He pries the kid back to get a good look at the flushed, sweaty face. As soon as they make eye contact, Peter's bottom lip wobbles and he bursts into tears. Peter openly sobs and hiccups between his cries. "Not great!" Tony informs Pepper over the loud crying. Peter wipes his cheeks with his fists, but his gut-wrenching sobs don't stop.

"Hug him!" Pepper orders as she tries to find a gap in traffic to pull over. Tony stiffens.

"I don't do those," he instantly denies, holding Peter slightly away from him.

"You've got to be kidding me," Pepper says under her breath in disbelief. "Kids like hugs! Just do it!" Tony moves his leg to keep the tears from dripping onto his expensive pants and makes no effort to hug the kid.

"It's okay. You're fine," he lamely comforts, glancing between Peter's face and where the tears are landing on the leather seat. Tony just doesn't know what to do. He can barely think over how loud the kid is bawling and he has no clue how to provide physical or emotional comfort in the first place.

Finally, the car screeches to a halt up against the curb. Pepper is quick to get out of the car and onto the sidewalk while Tony is frozen in place. When she opens the door, she doesn't waste a second before pulling Peter from Tony's arms and into her own. Peter wraps his arms around her neck and cries into her shoulder.

"Hey, sweetheart. It's okay, it's okay. You're safe," Pepper softly assures as she bounces the distraught boy in her arms. Tony watches Peter slowly calm down, wondering how a crying kid is ever going to get his company's positive image up and running again. _ This is such a waste of valuable time, _ he thinks. _ I'm wasting my time with a toddler when I could be in the workshop. Last time I ever listen to Obi's advice. _The pessimistic thoughts continue to race through his mind, but they're merely a distraction to hide the fact that he feels sorry for Peter. The onslaught of paparazzi caused the poor kid to freak out, and Tony feels bad about it. He isn't completely heartless. Still, he wouldn't ever admit his guilt. If it gets him some positive PR, then he doesn't regret it.

"There's, there's dots in my eyes 'n my head's owie," Peter desperately explains to Pepper as he gasps in breaths. Pepper gently shushes him and rubs his back, hoping it'll help to calm him. Tony doesn't understand why it takes so much work to calm a toddler down. Howard used to just ignore him until he found something better to do than cry. Then again, Tony doesn't think he turned out too great under Howard's watch. It takes a few more minutes, but Peter stops crying and simply rests his head on Pepper's shoulder.

"How about we go to Build-A-Bear? Would that make you feel better?" Pepper implores sweetly. Peter lifts his head up and pulls back to look at her with a half exhausted, half confused look.

"What's Build-A-Bear?" he asks, swaying slightly. Pepper steadies him and smiles.

"You'll love it. You get to make _ your own _ stuffed animal. How does that sound?" she tries to add as much inflection as she can to make it sound exciting. Peter nods and wipes his partially dried tears.

"Good." Noticing that Peter has calmed down and the situation has gotten somewhat under control, Tony lifts his arms in an offer to take back Peter. Pepper glares at him instead.

"You're driving," she orders, leaving no room for argument. Of course, Tony can't ever take a hint. He's too stubborn for that.

"I'm legally his guardian, so-"

"You might legally be his parent, but you sure as hell aren't acting like it," Pepper interrupts harshly. "I'm not going to argue with you right now. Drive." Tony seriously considers arguing anyways, but decides against it. After today, he just doesn't have the energy. Tony moves up to the driver's seat and lets Pepper sit in back with Peter.

It isn't too much of a drive to Build-A-Bear Workshop and as soon as Peter sees the colorful inside of the building, he bolts off to find a bear. Tony and Pepper watch as Peter picks out a light brown bear, then moves on to find outfits. Seeing the kid recover so quickly just because of a stuffed animal is what confuses Tony. He doesn't understand how Peter looked beyond heartbroken just a few minutes ago and now looks perfectly fine. _ Resilient little thing, _ he notes absentmindedly. When he glances to Pepper, he notices that she's standing with perfect posture as she also watches Peter. Tony adjusts his orange tinted sunglasses and clears his throat.

"Pep, I-"

"Don't," Pepper warns, cutting him off. "I can't talk to you right now. If I talk to you, I'm _ going _to explode." Her voice is dangerously low, partly so that she doesn't draw attention from other people in the store.

"He's fine! Look," Tony gestures to Peter looking through bear-sized outfits, "he's having a blast. Every kid dreams of being a billionaire's kid. Sue me. If you knew what was going on, you'd understand." He knows that isn't true, but he defends himself regardless.

"Nothing can justify leading on a kid like this. He's _ four, _ Tony. I've put up with a lot over the years during this job and this relationship, but _ this _ is not okay. You've gone too far." Pepper's voice trembles slightly. Tony isn't sure if it's because she's holding back tears or her temper. Peter eventually chooses the clothes he likes and runs up to the two adults with a bright smile.

"I did it!" he exclaims. When Tony realizes that Peter has chosen a Captain America outfit, it takes everything he has not to roll his eyes.

"Good job! Ready to fill him with stuffing?" Pepper asks, her mood quickly shifting. Peter loudly gasps with a wide, unhindered smile and yells,

"I get to stuff him?!" It then occurs to Tony that kids do not have inside voices and Peter has an exceptionally loud outside voice.

"You do! And Tony here is going to help you," Pepper offers as she gives Tony a stern look that strictly says "go with him or I'll end you." Peter shifts his gaze to Tony, his wide, brown eyes locking onto the man in seconds.

"Tomy's gonna help?!" Both Peter and Pepper stare at Tony expectantly. Of course, that leaves Tony without much wiggle room.

"Fine, yeah. I can do that. Piece of cake," he agrees. He has to prove to Pepper that he can handle taking care of this kid, otherwise she'll never let him do it. Besides, how hard can taking care of a kid be?

"Let's go!" Peter runs up and grasps Tony's hand before pulling him towards the stuffing machine. The white, fluffy padding swirls around in the container labelled "heart stuff." The front of it has a wooden bear holding a box of felt hearts. Peter lets go of Tony's hand in order to put his hands in the hearts. "What do we do?" he asks curiously.

"Well…" Tony hasn't ever been to Build-A-Bear or built a bear. He wasn't too worried about getting toys when he was young, he was more focused on trying to please his asshole father and getting into MIT and achieving his master's degree in engineering as well as physics and then…grieving.

"Tomy? Are you okay?" Peter's small, concerned voice breaks Tony's train of thought.

"Peachy keen."

"Are you sad?" Tony raises his eyebrows, surprised by how perceptive the kid is.

"Nope," he lies. "How about stuffing that thing up? Then we can get you home and in bed. Lord knows I need a break." He mutters the last part as he rubs his face. Peter purses his lips and pouts.

"He's not a thing! His name is Stebe," he valiantly defends, holding his unstuffed bear closer. Tony holds up his hands in surrender. There's no way he's in the mood to argue semantics with a four-year-old.

"Sure thing. Ready to stuff?" Peter's grumpy pout disappears and he nods excitedly. Tony, trying to hide his disgruntled attitude, helps by holding the bear in place as Peter turns the crank to fill the bear full of fluff. Peter has to stand on his tiptoes just to spin the crank all the way around, but he gets the job done and Tony doesn't have to step in. As soon as his Captain America bear is filled, Peter rushes back to the bowl of hearts.

"I get to put in a heart?" he double checks eagerly.

"You do you, Peter." Tony's trying to pay attention, he just…doesn't care. Plain and simple. But he has to look like he cares, so he kneels down beside Peter and holds the back of the bear open.

"I'm gonna make a wish!" Peter giggles and closes his eyes to concentrate on making his wish. He holds the chosen felt heart tightly in his fingertips. Tony takes an impatient breath and looks around to keep his mind occupied. _ I could be in the workshop making progress on the upgrades for the holotable and- _"I did it!" Peter exclaims before pressing the heart into the fluff.

"Good work. What'd you wish for?" Tony asks absentmindedly as a nearby machine sews up the back of the bear.

"I can't tell you, Tomy! It's a secret." Peter smiles innocently. The last thing Tony would want to do is pry more talking out of the kid, so he just finishes up the bear and hands it to him.

"Have at 'em." With Tony's confirmation, Peter runs the bear over to Pepper so that they can dress it and pay for it.

Once they finally finish up at Build-A-Bear, Peter has his very own Captain America bear a.k.a. Stebe. He happily jumps to the car in his bumblebee rain boots, then waits for Pepper and Tony to catch up. After the day they've had, Tony is left wondering why people ever want to have kids and how they handle it everyday for years. And what do they get out of it? Lots of tears, snot, and backtalk.

Tony is the one who drives them home with Pepper sitting in the back seat to keep Peter company. Luckily, Peter falls asleep against Pepper's side halfway through. As soon as they're home, Tony briefly contemplates taking the kid from Pepper to carry him up, but then decides against it. He doesn't have anything to prove when they aren't out in public after all. That is, until Pepper speaks up.

"Take him up to his room. He should be out for the rest of the night since he didn't get to nap today," she informs in a whisper. Tony holds back a scoff since he knows not to test her nerves right now.

"Y'know, just not feelin' it right now. You, on the other hand, are doing a spectacular job. Keep it up." That whole thing about not testing Pepper's nerves? Yeah, Tony's not great at that. When all he's left with is a glare, he gets the message. "Or I can take him up to his room." He carefully slips his hands underneath Peter's neck and legs, then stops. How is he supposed to maneuver the kid? What if he drops him? Does he have to carry him up the stairs?

"If you can't carry him up to his room, you'll never make it as a parent," Pepper cuts in after Tony has been thinking for a few moments too long.

"Disheartening how you don't have more faith in me. Soul-crushing, really," Tony feigns hurt before carefully pulling Peter out of the car. He keeps his hands steady to be sure not to wake the boy. Since Peter's asleep, Tony decides that a quick elevator ride can't hurt. What Peter doesn't know won't hurt him.

The short ride up to the main floor is tense. Between Pepper's cold, unwavering stare ahead and Tony's stiff posture as he holds the kid, there isn't much room for anything besides the tension. Tony can't help but look down at the sleeping child in his arms. Peter's mouth is slightly open and his brown curls are tousled in all directions. His outfit is beyond horrendous with the bumblebee rainboots and Tony hates how the kid chose a Captain America bear, but children don't know any better. Still…Peter's pink tinted cheeks and unruly curls are somewhat endearing. Tony would never say it out loud.

When the elevator doors open, Tony gingerly walks to Peter's room as to not wake him up. The last thing he needs is Pepper yelling at him because he woke up the kid.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., door." The door to Peter's room instantly opens at Tony's command and he walks in. Tony can't get Peter out of his arms fast enough, but he manages to delicately place the toddler in the massive bed underneath the covers. As soon as he's settled, Tony slowly retreats out of the room, into the hall, and quickly shuts the door. He immediately breathes a sigh of relief. Finally. Now he gets time to himself to tinker in the workshop away from everything and everyone.

"Are you out of your mind?" Peper demands with her arms crossed as soon as Tony renters the living room. Her jaw is tightly set and her eyes burn with barely concealed rage.

"Well, that went better than expected. Cocktails to celebrate? If only I hadn't thrown out all my adult beverages." Tony chooses to distract from the seriousness of the situation with humor. He knows it will undoubtedly piss Pepper off even more, but that just means he'll be able to retreat to his workshop.

"This is serious, Tony." Pepper tries to keep her level headedness, but she's far beyond being angry. She's enraged.

"I thought for sure either me or the kid would burn the place to the ground by now. So I'll count today as a win. Do you think I could get Dum-E to babysit?" Tony slowly meanders his way to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.

"Tony."

"You're right, Dum-E can barely watch himself. I'll have Butterfingers do it."

"Tony!" When Pepper yells, Tony raises his eyes from the brewing coffee.

"Goodness gracious, darling. There's no need to raise your voice," Tony says innocently, as if he hadn't just manipulated a kid for points with the press.

"You're absolutely unbelievable," Pepper scoffs. Tony chooses to interpret it as a compliment.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," he quips accompanied by a wink. Pepper's lips don't so much as twitch, let alone smile.

"This is a new low, even for you," she rebukes through clenched teeth. Tony noncommittally shrugs his shoulders and plops onto the long, pleather couch. He would kill for a drink with TV right about now.

"Haven't heard _ that _ one before," he snorts. "If you wanna make a dent, you're gonna have to hit harder, Pep." That lackadaisical comment is the last straw for Pepper. She walks in front of the TV, blocking Tony's view.

"Oh yeah? You _ really _ want to get into this?" She puts her hands on her hips and raises her eyebrows. When she doesn't get a response, she nods. "Fine. You can't take care of a child! You can hardly take care of yourself! You drink yourself into a coma every other night and the nights when you aren't doing that, you stay up all night in the workshop!" Tony merely waves her off. He knows it's a bad choice, but he doesn't have the energy to give a shit.

"Look, we have this all under control. Obadiah and I have a plan and-"

"No. Don't. Don't pretend like you thought about this," Pepper interrupts without regret. Tony sits up straighter when he realizes she isn't going to let this go. Who would've thunk.

"I did think ab-"

"You did _ not _ think this through," Pepper counters before Tony can start his list of excuses. "If you two had, you would've thought of how terrible an environment this is to raise a kid. Raising a kid was _ not _ in my job description, Tony! That's something you do after discussing it with the person you're dating! A _ couple's _decision! You didn't even ask me!" she tries to keep her voice quiet enough not to wake up Peter, but her frustration seeps into her voice. Tony resists the urge to roll his eyes and instead stands.

"Yes, I should've asked you," he relents. "I apologize. There." Pepper knows that's as good as she's ever going to get for a sorry, but it shouldn't be for her. It's about Peter.

"How serious about this can you be?" she questions intensely.

"Fine, set up a press conference. Be my guest," Tony challenges comfortably. The more PR, the better.

"You don't even let him call you dad. You made him call you Tony," Pepper points out, deadly serious. Of course, Tony redirects the statement.

"Hey, you're the one who ever-so-eloquently pointed out that we're a couple. I don't see you offering him to call you mom," he smugly fires back instead of answering.

"Don't you turn this on me. I'm not the bad guy here," Pepper warns, her voice tight with anger.

"And I am?" Tony asks indignantly. Pepper scoffs and rubs her forehead.

_ "Yes! _ I'm not the one who adopted a kid willy-nilly without thinking about the consequences! This is a real child with feelings. You don't get to stand here and tell me that you haven't thought about giving Peter back after all this." Tony hates how Pepper is absolutely correct. She somehow always hits the nail on the head. He stays silent. "You don't understand how-"

"No, I don't think you understand." Tony cuts her off and takes a step closer in order to angrily whisper, "I'm stuck, Pepper. This is _ beyond _irreparable. You're acting like you could go in there," he points towards Peter's room, "and tell that kid that we're taking him back. Have a blast! Let me know how that fucking goes for you." With that point made, Tony turns on his heel and confidently walks towards the stairs that leads to his workshop.

"So that's it? You're just going to walk away?" Pepper demands, slightly shaking her head in disapproval.

"I'm going to the shop," Tony informs curtly.

"And what about your kid?" Pepper calls after him. As Tony answers, he's already walking down to the next floor.

"He's _ sleeping, _ he's not going to be doing anything." He finishes his descent and, finally, has some peace and quiet away from a yelling toddler and a screaming Pepper. J.A.R.V.I.S. automatically opens the door for him and greets him with,

"Good evening, Sir. Do you require anything for your wounded pride following Ms. Potts' accurate arguments?" Tony shakes his head in disbelief at J.A.R.V.I.S.'s quick wits.

"Knew I could count on you. The usual is just fine, thanks." He takes off his jacket, so that he's just in a tank, and the workshop is enveloped in blasting AC/DC. Now _ this _ is his element, not taking care of a four-year-old. He can't believe Obadiah talked him into the whole situation, but he's not going to deny that it's perfect. Who can resist a cute kid? Besides himself, of course. All he has to do is hold a press conference to show off how great the kid is and then go out in public with said kid. It'll be a few months of fake parenting, if even that. Tony can handle it. For now, he straps on his welding goggles for a long night and fires up his welding torch.

* * *

Mom and dad are fighting, but at least we have Stebe!

Thank you for reading❤ 💛💚💙💜

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	4. Fake It 'Til You Make It

The world has graced us with another Friday! I'm so happy to see that everyone adores Stebe as much as I do 💕 I can confidently assure you that there will be plenty of Stebe to come!

This chapter, we get a lot of progression and maybe a hint of humanity from Tony, but more importantly we get...bananas! Which is the FANART for today! The lovely vanillabean_97 on Instagram and Twitter has drawn the cutest thing for this chapter, PLEASE go look at it on my account kevy_fanfics and send Vanilla all the love in the world! She's an amazing artist and friend :) p/B09CV4UApnR/?igshid=fy9rzt096v80

Have fun and stay safe!❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

Chapter 4: Fake It 'Til You Make It

Tony spends the entire night in the workshop. He works on upgrades for the holotable, patches up some of J.A.R.V.I.S.'s programming, and then spends the rest of his time drafting schematics for a new project. The project isn't anything too exciting just yet, but he had an interesting idea for a new missile prototype that might be useful for the troops in Afghanistan. He might ask Rhodey's opinion on it later when he gets the chance. Instead of getting sleep like a normal human, he hyper-focuses on the schematics and, thankfully, can't tell the difference between minutes and hours passing.

Peter, however, wakes up to a large, empty room with his heart beating a little too fast for comfort. Another nightmare wakes him up much too early. He doesn't remember what it was about, but he isn't crying this time. Instead of dwelling on it, he looks around. The room is a stark contrast to the twin sized bed and cozy room he used to sleep in. That bedroom was personalized with posters, bookshelves housing his favorite books, and toys scattered across the floor. This room has no posters, definitely no bookshelves, and only a few toys he chose at Goodwill. The bedroom he loved had light green walls and a soft, shaggy carpet. This room has white walls and a glossy, hardwood floor. Everything is different.

His stomach rumbles and he doesn't think twice before flopping from his back onto his stomach. He slowly slides down the edge of his bed, holding tightly onto the bed sheets, until his pink toes touch the cold floor. The icy, varnished floor sends a shiver throughout his body, yet he manages to land on his feet. He stumbles slightly on wobbly legs, but is quick to regain his balance. Before he forgets, he tugs down his bear Stebe and holds him close to his chest as he ventures away from his bed. He sleepily shuffles towards the door and has to stand on his tiptoes to attempt to reach the gold knob. Still, his fingertips can hardly brush it, let alone grip it to open the door. The knob jingles, but does nothing else.

"Good morning, Peter." The boy jumps at the sudden disembodied voice. He quickly backs away from the door, clutching Stebe close. "Do you require assistance with opening the door?" the voice offers. Peter stares up with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.

"Are…are you stuck in da ceiling?" he cautiously asks.

"No, there's no need to worry," the voice politely assures. Peter blinks once.

"Who are you?" he asks in a tone filled with fascination and wonder. He hasn't ever heard a voice without a body before.

"I'm Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. Feel free to call me J.A.R.V.I.S.." Peter blinks again, then tilts his head ever so slightly as he absorbs the new information.

"Jarbis?" he repeats, unable to say his v's. There's a slight pause before J.A.R.V.I.S. responds with,

"That is correct." Not even J.A.R.V.I.S. can tell the toddler "no," with Tony being an exception. "I am always here if you need anything, such as opening doors." Suddenly, the door in front of Peter squeaks open, making his eyes widen even further in amazement.

"Woah!" he exclaims as he rushes through the door. When he realizes he accidentally left J.A.R.V.I.S. behind, he hobbles back into his room. "Thank you!"

"My pleasure. I'm here for anything you need," J.A.R.V.I.S. politely ensures.

"Anything?"

"Anything." Peter thinks for a moment, his nose scrunching up as he goes through the options in his head.

"Jarbis?" he calls up as he stares at the ceiling.

"Yes?"

"Where's Tomy?" There's a brief pause before J.A.R.V.I.S. answers again.

"He's currently occupied in the workshop."

"Do I get to see him?" Peter asks hopefully.

"I'm afraid no one is allowed to bother him while he's in the workshop," J.A.R.V.I.S. regretfully informs, a slight softness to his voice.

"Oh. When's he gonna be done?" Another pause. Peter just stares up at where J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice seems to be coming from until he gets a response.

"I'm not quite sure. However, if you'd like, I can notify Ms. Potts that you're awake and require breakfast," J.A.R.V.I.S. offers with utmost kindness. Peter rubs one of his eyes with his free hand.

"Yes please," he says quietly.

"I have contacted her. You can wait for her in the kitchen," J.A.R.V.I.S. relays.

"M'kay," Peter mumbles as he nods his head. "But, Jarbis?"

"Yes?"

"Where are you gonna go when I go to the kitchen?" the boy asks worriedly. The amount of concern that is suddenly in the boy's voice would be confusing, if anyone were here to witness it. He doesn't want to leave the voice all by itself. However, J.A.R.V.I.S. answers without missing a beat.

"I can come with you, if you'd like." Peter's face instantly brightens with a smile and he nods with an abundance of enthusiasm. He waddles out of the room, but stops just outside the door frame to look back up.

"Jarbis?" he double checks and, much to his delight, J.A.R.V.I.S. still answers.

"Yes, Peter?" J.A.R.V.I.S. of course portrays nothing but patience.

"You came!" Peter bounces on his toes slightly with pent up energy as he continues to look at the ceiling.

"Of course."

"Are you crawling through the ceiling?" the boy asks curiously as he walks down the hall.

"No, my software allows me to be anywhere in the mansion," J.A.R.V.I.S. explains as Peter wanders into the living room.

"Oh…" Peter doesn't quite understand, but he accepts the information anyways. "What do you do up there?" he asks instead.

"I do my best to reach the expectations placed upon me and assist those who live here. I'm here to help," J.A.R.V.I.S. kindly informs. Peter looks to both his right and left in a vain attempt to either find the kitchen or Tony, whichever comes first.

"Do you eber get bored?" he inquires when he doesn't find either of the things he was looking for.

"Not particularly," J.A.R.V.I.S. answers honestly. "The kitchen is going to be to your left while the workshop is down the stairs to your right." Peter looks to his left, then to his right. He wants to go see Tony, but it's obvious that Tony doesn't want to see him. So, instead, he shuffles to his left towards the kitchen where J.A.R.V.I.S. said Pepper is going to meet him.

"How do you eat?" Peter questions, somewhat concerned at how the voice is going to get food.

"I don't need to eat, or consume any calories." At this point, J.A.R.V.I.S. is more than aware that Peter doesn't understand the concept of a User Interface, so he just tries to answer the questions to the best of his abilities.

"You don't eat food?!" Peter asks incredulously. "You neber get pizza?! Or chicken nuggets?! Or, or apple juice?!" Just the thought of living life without these amazingly delicious foods makes Peter want to cry.

"I know of them, but no, I've never tried them," J.A.R.V.I.S. vaguely expresses his mutual disappointment. Peter keeps his eyes trained upwards in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Jarbis," the toddler apologizes, swinging Stebe back and forth beside him.

"It's quite alright, Peter. Not to worry, Pepper will be joining you shortly." J.A.R.V.I.S. doesn't hesitate to reassure Peter, noticing the kid's momentary distress.

A few minutes later, the elevator doors open and Pepper walks out wearing her business attire. She was expecting to step away from her work to check in on both Tony and Peter, but she wasn't expecting the issues to start at eight in the morning. Preparing herself for an early argument, she swiftly walks into the kitchen to see Peter standing in the middle of the kitchen floor with a tired face and rosy cheeks.

"Good morning, Peter," she happily greets. As long as Peter is happy and comfortable, she considers herself successful. Peter smiles back at her without thought.

"Morning, Miss Peppa," he says sweetly. Pepper smiles sadly at the engraved politeness in the young boy from going through the system.

"You don't have to call me 'Miss,' if you don't want to, remember? It's okay to just call me Pepper," she ensures as she crouches down in front of him. Of course, Tony's point about not letting Peter call her "mom" immediately comes to mind. Peter doesn't catch on to her hesitance though.

"I can?" he asks hopefully, his eyes brightening.

"Of course." As soon Pepper confirms her decision, Peter lunges forward and wraps his arms around her neck. At first Pepper's taken off guard by Peter's sudden affection, but she is quick to return the boy's hug. Peter lays his head on her shoulder and Pepper patiently holds him close.

"You can call me Petey too, if you wanna!" Peter offers, lifting his head to look at her. Pepper does her best to hide her overwhelming emotions behind a pleasant smile.

"Thank you," she says politely. "Hey, do you know what Eskimo kisses are?" Peter frowns in thought, then shakes his head.

"Uh uh." Pepper's smile grows to show her white teeth.

"It's where you touch your noses together," Pepper presses her nose to Peter's, earning a small laugh from the boy, "and you shake your head." They both shake their heads and their noses gently rub together.

"That's silly," Peter says accompanied by a fit of giggles. Pepper's light blue eyes look into his chocolate brown ones. _ What a sweet kid… _she thinks absentmindedly. She pulls away and affectionately taps Peter's nose.

"Have you eaten yet?" Much to Pepper's dismay, Peter shakes his head. "Did Tony not get you breakfast?" Who is she kidding? Tony never wakes up before noon, if he sleeps at all.

"Tomy, Tomy's not talking to me," Peter huffs, trying to portray how he's feeling through words. Pepper tilts her head slightly in concern.

"He's not talking to you?" she repeats for clarification. She wouldn't put it past Tony to give a four-year-old the silent treatment, which is what worries her.

"No!" Peter exclaims with a trembling bottom lip. "Jarbis says he's doing work and, and some work in the shop but I can't see him." Hearing Peter say "Jarbis" instead of "J.A.R.V.I.S." would've been cute to Pepper under any other circumstances besides a neglectful Tony. Pepper sighs, she supposes she should've seen this coming. She just hoped that after their argument yesterday, he would've pulled himself together even just enough to make Peter breakfast.

"Would you like me to give him a piece of my mind, Ms. Potts?" J.A.R.V.I.S. cuts in to offer innocently, though it's obvious there's an underlying tone of sass. Pepper chuckles lightly.

"Don't worry, I'll give him plenty of mine," she assures before giving her attention back to Peter. "Do you want to go down and see Tony?" Peter gasps softly with excitement.

"We can?" he whispers as if it's the biggest secret in the world. Pepper nods before standing up and Peter's head tilts up to continue looking at her.

"But you have to eat something first. What are you hungry for?" Pepper walks to the overly large, stainless steel fridge and opens it to search for something edible for a toddler. Peter looks around the kitchen, standing on his tippy-toes, in search of something to eat. A bundle of golden-colored bananas on the counter immediately catches his eye. The toddler…well, toddles over to the counter and tries to climb his way up with one arm. "Woah, Peter." Pepper rushes to his side and pulls him away from his determined but unsuccessful climbing, hoisting him onto her hip.

"Nanas!" Peter exclaims as he still leans towards the counter to point at the fruit.

"You want a banana?" Pepper reiterates and, when Peter nods, she uses her free hand to tear off a banana. She's surprised that Tony even has fresh fruit lying around. She sits Peter on the countertop as she peels the banana. Peter bounces, kicking his feet with a wide smile as he impatiently waits for his breakfast. "There you go." Pepper hands off the banana to the excited little boy, who immediately takes a bite off the top.

"Thank you!" Peter says with his mouth full. He snuggles Stebe to his chest as he happily munches on his breakfast. Pepper smiles and lifts the boy up to set him down on the ground again.

"You're very welcome. Ready to see Tony?" she asks with as much enthusiasm as she can muster into her voice. Peter nods, his lips already covered in banana mush, and reaches his hand out towards Pepper. He doesn't look up to see if she'll take it, he just trusts that she will. That's what makes Pepper's hearts ache. Children are so pure. Pepper gently accepts his hand and they walk to and down the stairs together.

When they get down to the workshop level, the floor-to-ceiling windows are opaque to where they can't see through. Pepper is all too familiar with this since Tony does it on a regular basis. She uses her clearance code to open up the workshop doors and the blasting music immediately pours out. The sudden increase in sound causes Peter to jump slightly, but he doesn't loosen his hold on Pepper's hand. Tony is standing at his triple screen display, tapping on the touch screen with hyperfocus. The light blue glow from the screens illuminate his face and reflects in his eyes.

"Tony!" Pepper tries to yell over the music. As always, her yelling isn't any match for the deafening music. She huffs and shakes her head in disapproval before instead shouting. "J.A.R.V.I.S.!"

"Already on it, Ms. Potts." As soon as J.A.R.V.I.S. replies, the music is cut off. Tony's head snaps up and he rapidly looks around until his eyes land on the other two people in the room. Of course, his momentary peace is already ruined.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Ms. Potts," he asks sarcastically, turning his attention back to his calculations.

"Besides Peter needing breakfast and not being able to reach you? You have that important press conference at nine thirty," Pepper informs with impatience and a glare. Peter looks up at Pepper, then across the way at Tony as he chews his banana.

"Which is in…?" Tony hasn't exactly kept track of the time, not that he needs to. Usually. He might've forgotten that he's in charge of another human being. But who could blame him? Besides, the kid was asleep.

"An _ hour," _ Pepper clarifies, raising a single, unamused eyebrow. Tony rolls his eyes and swipes his hand to power down the computers.

"Yeah, sweetheart, I get the message. I'm comin'. But you get to explain to our ever-so-patient Obi why I'm behind on all my work." He twists to stretch out his back before standing up. As soon as he stands, Peter let's go of Pepper's hand, drops his banana peel on the ground, and pitter-patters towards Tony. All Tony does is watch as the toddler slams into his leg and wraps his arms around said leg tightly.

"Good morning, Tomy," Peter greets, his words muffled by the fabric of the pants. The boy's bear Stebe still hangs from his fingertips.

"Uh, morning." Tony awkwardly clears his throat and pats the top of Peter's head twice. When Peter lets go of Tony's leg, he looks up at the man and extends his arms. He looks like he's trying to snap his fingers, but doesn't make a sound. Tony can't decipher what in the world the kid is trying to do.

"He wants you to carry him," Pepper advises, her arms crossed. She's the epitome of unimpressed. Tony looks up at her and back down at Peter. He's supposed to _ carry _ the kid?

"Up!" Peter whines longingly. It's obvious that the toddler is getting more and more intolerant by the second, and Tony can't have him upset during the conference. Everything has to work out perfectly. So, against Tony's better judgement, he picks up Peter and places him on his hip. Peter looks around energetically, taking in all the sights that he can see from so high up.

"Can you pick that up for me before this turns into an episode of Tom and Jerry?" Tony nods to the banana peel on the floor. "Arms are full. Please and thank you," he adds when Pepper doesn't make a move to pick up the peel. Pepper relents and picks up the peel since Tony has Peter.

"You have an hour. No more than that. We have to keep on schedule and Obadiah will be joining you, so that way the whole thing isn't a train wreck," she informs as she drops the peel into a nearby, silver trash can.

"Yeah, I get the gist. Have a little faith, hm?" Tony walks over to Pepper with an overly confident smirk. "I'll get dressed and-"

"And you'll also dress Peter. Right?" Before Tony can disagree, Pepper answers for him. "Right. Let's get moving." With that, she turns smoothly on her heel and walks back to the stairs. Tony doesn't exactly have the right to argue, so he just glances to Peter. The kid is already looking at him with his dark brown, trusting eyes. Tony doesn't know how to react. Instead, he simply looks away and follows Pepper.

If one were to say getting Peter dressed was an ordeal, it would be the understatement of the century. Apparently, Peter doesn't like the idea of taking off his pajamas.

"I don't wanna take off my jammies!" Peter screams as he kicks his small legs in vain to keep his pj pants on. Unfortunately for him, his persistence is no match for Tony who easily tugs off the pajama pants.

"I know, Peter, but we're going to a very important conference and you have to look nice," Tony tries to reason with the squirming toddler. Peter does his best to get away from Tony's hold, flinging his arms around.

"I don't wanna!" Tony exhales sharply without much patience left.

"Well, you have to 'cause I said so," Tony counters instead, deciding to abandon his half-assed plan of reasoning with the kid. He debates calling for Pepper as Peter yells, and he knows that she can hear it, but his pride won't let him ask for help.

"No!" Peter shouts again, devolving into shrieks of protest. Tony decides to let go of Peter's legs to stressfully run his hands through his own hair. _ Why the hell do kids have to be so loud? _

"Fine, y'know what? Keep the pajamas on! I don't care! Go for it! It'll just be a room full of reporters and you'll be on every magazine cover in the country, but fine," he retorts gruffly. He stands tall as a pantsless Peter flips onto his hands and knees, crawls up to the head of the bed, and slams his face into the abundance of pillows. Tony rolls his eyes at the drama of it all, until he hears Peter's quiet, muffled cries. He takes a long, deep breath. "C'mon, I said you could wear the pajamas. We have to get going, alright?" he offers with an attempt at trying to soften his voice. If he doesn't get Peter to cooperate, they'll be late. Peter peeks up from the pillows with a single, glossy eye.

"You gotta say you're sorry," he mumbles. Tony pinches the bridge of his nose. _ This is a waste of time. _

"Sorry. Okay? We need to go," he orders as he checks his watch. Peter's mood seems to do a one-eighty and he lifts his head from the pillows with a smile.

"It's okay. I forgib you, Tomy." Peter scooches to the edge of the bed and puts his pajama pants back on. As soon as he's done, he slides down the side of the bed and walks to the door with an odd sense of purpose. Tony wonders if all toddlers are this resilient or if it's just Peter. He opens the door for the kid and they both walk back out to see Pepper before the conference.

"He's still in PJs," Pepper points out with a knowing smile. When Peter sees her, he runs towards her and hugs both of her legs. "Well hello there, handsome," she greets with a chuckle before hoisting him up. Peter openly laughs as Pepper tickles his sides and kisses under his chin. For some reason, Tony feels a twinge of…something. He just isn't sure what that something is.

It doesn't take long to get to the Stark Industries location, containing a multitude of buildings. There's a specific room with a podium dedicated to press conferences, which is where they'll be having theirs today. Tony and Pepper, the latter carrying Peter in her arms, go in through the back of the main facility to avoid the onslaught of reporters that are undoubtedly waiting at the main entrance.

"Look who's on time for once!" Obadiah greets when he notices the three enter the building.

"Obi!" Peter exclaims, already reaching towards the man. Without a second thought, Obadiah takes the boy and holds him casually on his hip.

"Ready for the big conference?" Obadiah asks Tony with a cocky grin. He seems so comfortable about introducing Peter to the world.

"As ready as I'm gonna be. I have enough caffeine running through my veins to last an hour. Tops. So let's get this train wreck on the rails, shall we?" Tony responds, adjusting his tie and straightening out his suit jacket.

"I hope you two know what you're doing," Pepper mildly interjects. She looks between the two with impassive eyes, but Tony knows better than to think she isn't feeling anything. She's furious. Still, for some reason, she's letting it play out.

"We've got it all worked out. Right, Obi?" Tony looks to his friend for confirmation as he extends his arms to take Peter.

"As always, to a T." Obadiah passes off Peter. When Tony is holding Peter, the boy greets him with a not-so-quiet whisper.

"Hi, Tomy," he says before giggling. _ At least he's in a better mood. That'll be good for the cameras, _ Tony thinks, trying to remain optimistic.

"Hey, Peter. Ready?" It's more of a rhetorical question, but Peter happily nods anyways.

"Mhm!" Tony isn't sure if the toddler knows what he's agreeing to. It makes the man feel a bit guilty. Not enough to call off the press conference, though. With Peter's agreement, Tony nods to Obadiah and they all walk out to the podium. As soon as they're visible to all the reporters and journalists, the yelling and the camera flashing starts. Peter immediately buries his head into Tony's shoulder and tightens his arms around the man's neck.

"No, I don't like the lights. Too bright," Peter whines, squirming to get closer to Tony for comfort. Tony pats his back and bounces him slightly. Y'know, like people do in the movies.

"I know. I'll take care of it," he assures. He can't have the kid upset for the entire interview, after all. Once they reach the podium and Tony opens his mouth, all the reporters silence to hear what he has to say.

"Morning, everyone. Hi, hello. One itsy bitsy favor, no flash photography. I know I look spectacular today, but the lights upset mini-me here." He rubs Peter's back and tries to sneak a peek at his face. "You wanna say hi?" Peter looks up just enough to see Tony, then puts his head back into Tony's shoulder with a shake of his head. The crowd chuckles and Tony plasters on his fake smile. "C'mon, bud." _ Nicknames show that we're close, right? _All Peter does is loosens one of his arms to wave at the crowd without looking up. Well, he tries to wave. He grabs at the air to try to mimic a normal wave, but he doesn't quite get it right. Still, it seems to only make him more endearing to all the people.

"Tony's going to be explaining the circumstances first," Obadiah cuts in with his usual, charming smile, "then he'll be answering questions. Until then, please hold your questions for the end." He stands to the side to let Tony have full range of the microphone. Pepper stands behind the large group of people, slightly off to the side as she dispassionately stares at Tony. The crowd stays quiet while Tony starts his explanation.

"I felt like I was missing something in my life. A constancy. Y'know, something to focus on besides the usual tinkering and highly successful weapons production. Something to ground me, if you will, when I constantly travel for the greater good of this fine country. Pepper and I decided on the mutual commitment to adopt a kid, and here we are." Tony decides not to overcomplicate it. And yeah, he might've fibbed here and there, but the reporters don't know that. As soon as he finishes, all the reporters yell his name with their hands raised to get his attention. "Yeah, you in the back."

"What's his name?" the brunette reporter asks.

"Peter," Tony answers. He bounces the boy a few times to try to get him to face the crowd. When Peter doesn't so much as move, Tony continues with the questions.

"You up front." He points to a blonde man in the front row.

"Will he be taking over the company?" _ Not likely when he won't be around long enough, _Tony answers in his head.

"If he so chooses. Next." He points to a woman on the far end of a row.

"How's life as a parent?" the reporter asks curiously. It's probably what all of them are wondering, more so along the lines of "how are you handling it." Tony would feel insulted of them thinking so little of him if 1: he cared and 2: they were wrong.

"Oh I love it. I actually made breakfast for him this morning. Wonderful experience," he smugly lies through his teeth. "You." He nods to a woman in the middle of the group with her hand raised the highest.

"What did you have for breakfast, Peter?" she asks the toddler instead. Peter peeks up at the mention of his name, then raises his head. This fully displays his head full of wild, light brown curls.

"A nana," he answers shyly, which Tony didn't even believe was possible. The reporters laugh, thankfully taking Tony's lie as a joke. Tony laughs along, which he knows only Pepper can tell is fake. He doesn't dare to look over at her. He knows better, especially since it's more than likely that she's fuming over his lies.

"How are you liking your new home so far?" one of the reporters calls out of turn. Tony scans the crowd, but can't find who said it. For some reason, Peter perks up at the question.

"There's a nice guy who lives in the ceiling!" Peter exclaims, throwing his arms up to portray his excitement. Tony genuinely chuckles at the boy's interpretation.

"He's talking about J.A.R.V.I.S.," he clarifies. There are smiles throughout the swarm of people, which confirms to him that they're already falling for Peter. Just like they planned. Obadiah notes the effect Peter has on the crowd. "You, go for it," Tony lazily gestures to another reporter.

"How old are you, Peter?" Peter smiles proudly as he holds out four fingers.

"This many!" he declares with a giggle, just as he had when he met Tony.

Tony finds himself absentmindedly smiling at Peter as the questions continue, no longer attempting to organize the questions being asked. Peter is ecstatic to answer the reporters at first, but the longer it goes on, the shorter his answers become. Finally, he reaches his limit and holds out his arms towards Obadiah. The moment Peter extends his grabby hands, Tony feels somewhat disappointed. Insulted, almost. _ Why doesn't he want me to hold him? _ Then Tony catches himself. _ Me? Jealous? I must be out of my mind today. _Obadiah laughs loudly and easily takes the boy.

"He's just fitting in so well and loving everyone that he likes to take turns," Obadiah effortlessly explains, earning him soft laughs from the crowd.

"Yeah, he tends to switch from person to person. A social butterfly, this one," Tony adds, forcing a smile for the cameras. "Well, that's our cue. Peter's done for the day so we'll be heading out. Thank you all for your time and whatnot." He waves to the group as the three of them leave the podium, ignoring the shouts for extra comments.

"Bye-bye! I lub you!" Peter yells as he waves goodbye to the crowd over Obadiah's shoulder. When they get away from the prying eyes of the media, Pepper rushes up to Peter.

"No no, sweetheart. We don't say we love strangers," Pepper corrects with a chuckle. Peter tilts his head and purses his lips in a pout.

"How come?" he asks, confused. Pepper isn't exactly sure how to explain it.

"Because we only say that to…family, okay?" she explains sweetly. Still, Peter's smile drops.

"Like mamas and daddies?" Peter clarifies, biting his bottom lip. Pepper glances up to Tony, but chooses not to say anything to him. She keeps her focus on Peter.

"Yeah, like moms and dads. Family." Peter stares at her with his big, brown eyes. After a few seconds of eye contact, he looks down.

"Oh…" is all he says in response. This time, Pepper looks up at Obadiah.

"You can take him ahead, Tony and I will come get him in a second," Pepper urges. Obadiah is happy to oblige with a nod and adjusts the toddler higher on his hip.

"Come on, Squirt. Let's go take a look around," he offers the kid with a grin as he starts to walk away.

"M'kay, Obi," Peter concedes, resting his head on Obadiah's shoulder. As soon as they're out of earshot, Pepper turns to Tony with her arms crossed. Before she can start what Tony can only assume to be a lecture, he distracts from the current situation.

"Did you see that? One second the kid's all over me and the next second, he's reaching for Obi. I swear, that kid better get his priorities straight. I'm practically the coolest person on the face of the Earth," Tony insists nonchalantly, only partly joking.

"Maybe because you treat him more like an object than a human child," Pepper effortlessly offers, accompanied by narrowed eyes.

"No, I'm sure it's not that." Tony sarcastically waves her off. When Pepper glares, he holds up his hands in defense. "Alright, fine. I'll treat him more like a four-year-old. We'll go out and do stuff and things," he offers instead.

"You better be serious, Tony. You treat that kid right. He deserves it. And so help me God, you're going to give Peter whatever he asks for," Pepper reprimands curtly. Giving Peter back is no longer on the table, not that she would want to. The kid is an angel and she wouldn't be afraid to admit that she has started falling for his adorable tendencies. Tony sighs and fixes his hair.

"Look, I'll have some _ bonding _ time with the kid, okay? Satisfied? We'll go do some…fishing or something. Play catch and whatnot. That'll satisfy him," Tony suggests the stereotypical father-son activities before waving off the subject. Hopefully he can kill two birds with one stone; getting Pepper off his back and hanging out with Peter for the media to see.

"You better hope Peter stays happy," Pepper warns and proceeds to follow where Obadiah went with Peter. Tony huffs, resisting the urge to hide out in his workshop for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, he has made a commitment that he can't break. Now he even has to plan a fishing trip or some crap. And to think he _ almost _ felt a smidge of jealousy at Peter wanting to be held by Obadiah instead of him. He doesn't want to hear the kid's ramblings anyways. Still, he somehow has to come up with a fishing getaway for "bonding" _ and _ make sure the media gets it for good publicity. Having a kid is way more work than he thought.

* * *

Can...can it be? having a soul? Guess we'll find out ;) Thank you for reading!❤ 💛💚💙💜

ONCE AGAIN: The lovely vanillabean_97 on Instagram and Twitter has drawn the cutest thing for this chapter, PLEASE go look at it on my account kevy_fanfics and send Vanilla all the love in the world! She's an amazing artist and friend :) p/B09CV4UApnR/?igshid=fy9rzt096v80

If you'd like to keep up to date on upcoming fics and get sneak peeks, feel free to follow one of my accounts!  
Twitter: Kevy_Fanfics & kevy_grayce  
Insta: kevy_fanfics & KevyGrayce


	5. It Mattered to That One

**Notes:**

Tis yet another Friday to bring us more adorable Pete and jerk Tony! I'm glad you all seem to be as upset about Tony as I was, it was hard to write him so heartless but it was a blast to write his character development. Some of which we might see today...👀 We also get to see more of our fan favorite Stebe and some comforting Jarbis :')

DOUBLE FANART SPECIAL: Please check out the fanart by fiapie_01 on my Instagram kevy_fanfics! She drew Peter in his bumblebee rainboots with STEBE!❤  
www/instagram/com/p/B1EhmOJg9Li/  
I would also like to thank a longtime commenter SuperHeroTiger on tumblr for some amazing fanart of last chapter's press conference! Their super supportive and the art is absolutely precious💙  
superherotiger2point0/tumblr/com/post/186909607183/quick-irondad-drawing-of-the-new-chapter-fake-it

Have fun and stay safe!❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

Chapter Five: It Mattered to That One

Peter suddenly shoots up in his bed, sweating and disoriented. Quickly falling tears dampen his cheeks and ragged breaths make his lungs burn. He hates it when it feels like there's a fire in his chest. When he can't stop crying, he roughly grips his hair and falls back down to sob into the pillows. After spending a few months in the orphanage, he figured out that he can cry as much as he wants if he quiets it with a pillow. That way no one will come looking while he's upset.

"Peter, are you alright?" The unexpected voice causes Peter to jump and his hold on the pillow to tighten. He hugs Stebe closer as he hiccups through his cries. "Would you like me to wake up Mr. Stark?" J.A.R.V.I.S. offers politely. Peter shakes his head into the pillow. He can be strong.

"I can do it by myself," the crying boy hiccups. He pulls Stebe closer in a vain attempt to comfort himself.

"I see…" J.A.R.V.I.S. goes through his options. He should probably relay Peter's distress to Tony, but Tony hasn't expressed a want to help the boy thus far. Plus, it seems that someone's help might exacerbate his panic. That just leaves Peter to go through it alone, or for J.A.R.V.I.S. to step in. "Would you like to talk to me instead?" J.A.R.V.I.S. kindly offers in a soft tone. Peter sniffs before raising his head away from the pillow and towards the ceiling.

"You wanna listen?" he asks, his eyes already puffy and red.

"It would be my pleasure." With J.A.R.V.I.S.'s confirmation, Peter slowly sits up. He folds his legs in the criss-cross-applesauce position and places Stebe under his chin.

"I, I saw…my mama and daddy," he whispers with a trembling lip. "They had to go to Heaven." He recites what he was told a few months ago, but it feels like forever.

"I'm sorry to hear that," J.A.R.V.I.S. says sympathetically as the child wipes away his tears.

"I don't know where that is, but that's what eberybody says." Silence envelopes the room. J.A.R.V.I.S. was prepared to comfort a child, but he wasn't aware that he would be comforting a _grieving _child. This changes his approach. "Do you think they're happy, Jarbis?" Peter asks, his voice wobbling with barely contained emotion.

"I do believe so, yes. They have a wonderful son to look over," J.A.R.V.I.S. assures without hesitation. Peter doesn't know why the support makes him cry more, but he simply continues to wipe away the tears.

"They're not gonna come back…" he states it rather than asks it. He's a smart kid for his age. Peter somewhat understands that death is irreversible and grasps its finality. He just hasn't had anyone to talk about it with. The adoption agency had tried to find him a therapist or grievance counselor, but everything got cut short in favor of the adoption with Tony.

"I'm afraid not, but I'm sure they love you very much," J.A.R.V.I.S. comforts, his tone honest and caring. Peter looks up as if searching for something.

"Do they miss me too?" he asks hopefully as his eyes dart around the ceiling.

"I can't imagine them not missing you, Peter. I would." It has barely been twenty-four hours and J.A.R.V.I.S. has already developed a soft spot for Peter as well. It's hard not to when Peter is so genuine and endearing.

"Jarbis?" Peter continues with wide, confiding eyes, "Do you get sad being alone?"

"I'm hardly ever alone, not to worry. I always keep myself occupied somehow," J.A.R.V.I.S. answers Peter's curious question. Peter chews the inside of his lip, looking down.

"Do you get sad with no hugs 'n kisses?" he asks instead. J.A.R.V.I.S. suspects that the kid is either trying to distract from himself or relate to someone, so he chooses to answer honestly.

"I haven't experienced those, so I don't miss them. Though, they do seem pleasant. I'm sure I would." Peter mulls the UI's response over in his head. He purses his lips in relatively deep thought before speaking again.

"Does anything make you sad?" J.A.R.V.I.S. seriously considers the question as Peter waits patiently.

"I don't believe so…but I do experience something that greatly resembles happiness when I talk with you, Peter." The boy slowly smiles, his rosy cheeks becoming rosier as he rests his chin on Stebe.

"I make you happy?" Peter double checks quietly.

"You do. I enjoy your company," J.A.R.V.I.S. confirms without a moment of hesitation. Peter's smile broadens and he hopes that J.A.R.V.I.S. is smiling too.

"You make happy too, Jarbis," Peter says with utmost compassion that could melt even the coldest of hearts. He's about to say something else before he is cut off by a wide yawn.

"Are you alright going back to sleep or would you like me to request Ms. Potts?" Peter simply shakes his head, confusing J.A.R.V.I.S. on which question the boy answered until he lies down again. Peter pulls Stebe even closer than the stuffed bear was before as he lets his eyes fall shut. "Sweet dreams," J.A.R.V.I.S. says softly, making sure the bed settings are warm enough for the child.

"Night-night," Peter mumbles before drifting off.

For once, Tony actually goes to sleep at a decent hour to prepare for the frustrating day to come. He has to go out to an area where he can fish with Peter _and _make sure the cameras have a good shot of them _and _bring them both back in one piece. Planning to go out into the real world is such a burden. Pepper helped him to decide on going to Malibu Pier, since it's only fifteen minutes away and apparently a fun place. He'll try to find a more secluded spot anyways. That way, no one will be there to obstruct his front page worthy photos. It's not like he's ever been fishing before either, so it'll be both his as well as Peter's first experience. They both got the short end of the stick when it came to fathers, and Tony isn't afraid to think it. Saying it out loud, on the other hand…not going to happen.

He wakes up around 9:00 am, hopefully before Peter, and groggily walks to the kitchen to make his first cup of coffee. Then, he has to wake up Peter. Which is absolutely terrifying. How do you even wake up a kid without them bursting into tears or throwing a fit? Still, Tony slowly opens the door to Peter's room. All he can see is a lump of a toddler intertwined in a mess of bedsheets. As he approaches, he notices Peter's arms are sprawled out and his mouth is slightly open. Tony almost feels bad about having to wake the kid up. Almost.

"Peter," he quietly says, standing next to the bed. The boy doesn't stir. Tony vaguely wonders if he'll have to actually touch Peter to wake him up. "Peter," he calls again a bit louder. He sighs when Peter still doesn't move, so he slowly extends his hand and reluctantly rubs the kid's warm back. "Pete." This time, Peter starts to move. He stretches out his arms above his head with his eyes still closed and rolls onto his back. Once he's done stretching, he blinks open his bleary eyes, which slowly find their way to Tony. "Morning," Tony greets awkwardly. Somehow it makes Peter smile.

"Morning," Peter whispers back. His eyes are barely open and he looks like he could fall back asleep at any second.

"I'll give you a second to wake up," Tony offers, trying to find a quick way out of the overly domestic situation.

"What?" Peter asks groggily as he starts to sit up. He rubs his eyes with the back of his hands and his curly hair sticks out every which way.

"I'll give you a second to wake up," Tony repeats. When the kid starts to teeter to the side, Tony almost hesitates to brace him, but ends up doing so anyways. Peter leans against Tony's palms without a care in the world.

"M'kay," the toddler accepts without a fuss. Now Tony isn't sure what to do. _Do I leave? Do I help him get up? Does he get dressed or eat first? Should I get Pep? Shit, I have no idea what I'm doing. _Peter breaks Tony's stream of panicked thoughts by standing up on the bed and waddling closer to him.

"What are you-" Peter wraps his arms around Tony's neck, "doing." Tony's hands hover above Peter cautiously. His heart hammers against chest. Is he supposed to hug the kid back? Didn't Pepper say kids like that?

"I got you!" Peter exclaims, already pulsing with energy.

"Yep. You got me," Tony awkwardly humors him.

"To the kitchen," Peter orders without loosening his grip on Tony. Of course, Tony doesn't know what to do.

"You hungry?" he asks instead. Peter nods in response.

"Don't wanna walk." Well, so much for letting Peter get there by himself. Looks like Tony can't avoid carrying him now.

"Okay then. Uh, up we go." Tony tightly holds Peter as he stands. Peter continues to hold on as Tony walks out of the room and towards the kitchen. "What do you want to eat?" Tony tries to remain casual regardless of his tense muscles.

"Peanut butter nana sammich," Peter mumbles, his voice muffled against Tony's shoulder. It's a good thing Peter can't see Tony's face, or he would see the man's nose crinkle with disgust. _Bananas and peanut butter on a sandwich? _Tony questions in his head.

"Sure thing." They enter the kitchen and Tony sets Peter down in one of the dining chairs before going to the fridge.

"No crust, please," Peter adds. Tony has to refrain from rolling his eyes. Kids can be so picky. He just wishes Pepper could come on the fishing trip to help keep him sane. Unfortunately, she has to do the work that he's skipping out on in order to spend time with Peter.

"Tomy," Peter calls as Tony is making the peanut butter and banana sandwich.

"Yeah?" Tony patiently replies, spreading peanut butter on the wheat bread he got from the fridge.

"You're my best friend." Tony instantly stops everything he's doing. Peter sounds so genuine that it immediately confuses him. His brow furrows as he tries to figure out if Peter actually knows what a best friend is.

"Oh yeah?" he asks with an unsure voice.

"Mhm," is all Peter says in return. Tony shakes his head slightly, getting rid of his stupor and brief shock.

"How come?" he indulges for humor's sake.

"You have cool shirts 'n race cars," Peter answers without hesitation. Tony snorts, of course Peter doesn't know what constitutes a best friend. He's only a toddler who values material thi- "And you're nice. You make me happy." Oh. That's different. Tony doesn't know how to respond, so he doesn't. He just goes through it in his head. _He thinks I'm nice? I make him happy? How the hell have I made him happy? _When he finishes the sandwich, he takes it over to Peter and sets it in front of him.

"There ya go. Bananas, peanut butter, and no crust," he recites.

"Thank you! I used to eated this all the time. It's my faborite," Peter explains before taking a big bite of the sandwich. Finally, after he's done eating, the two of them get dressed into more fishing-appropriate clothes and set off for the day.

The drive is fast and, luckily, Pepper ordered a booster seat for Peter to sit in. He sits in content in the back seat next to Tony while Happy drives them to Malibu Pier. However, that doesn't stop the kid from rambling.

"Tomy! I can do my numbers!" Peter shouts, even though Tony is barely a foot away. Happy wishes he was kept in the loop about a toddler so that he could've brought ear plugs.

"Yeah?" Tony replies absentmindedly while Happy finds a place to park.

"Uh-huh! Listen! One, two, three, four, wait, I didn't do the number one. That's the first number." Tony swears that this is going to be how he dies. This isn't the way he wanted to go. "One, two, three, four, fibe, six, seben, eight, nine, ten, eleben, twelbe, thirteen, fourteen, sixteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty!" Tony wants to bang his head on the window.

"Nice." All he needs is the universe to give him patience.

"I know my ABCs too! A-"

"Oh look! We're here," Tony hastily interrupts as soon as Happy parks. "Thank god," he adds in a quiet grumble. Peter immediately places his hands on his window to look out at the pier, but Tony doesn't even bother to reprimand him for smudging the glass. As Tony is about to step out of the car, his phone buzzes.

****Obi Stane****

Obadiah: _What's the plan, my boy? _

Tony: _Thought the planning was your job _

Tony: _We just got to Malibu Pier _

Tony: _Goin fishing _

Obadiah: _Excellent. Put on a good show, the cameras will be watching. _

Tony: _Don't I always? _

Tony's stomach churns at the texts. He has no idea why, but the idea of the paparazzi spying on them and swarming them like last time leaves a bad taste in his mouth. Regardless of his confusing reaction, he exits the car and opens the back door on Peter's side.

"Boo!" Peter yells, causing Tony to jump back in surprise. Of course, Peter giggles as Tony tries to get his heart rate under control before it bursts through his chest. "I got you!" Tony nods, giving the proud toddler a thumbs up.

"Yep. Mhm. Sure did." _Don't yell. Don't yell. Don't yell. _He takes a long, deep breath to calm his nerves. "Come on, out you go," he urges after he unbuckles Peter's seatbelt.

"Where are we going?" Peter asks curiously as he takes in the new scenery.

"We're going fishing. For fun," Tony tries to keep the sarcasm out of his tone. He's not sure if he succeeded, but it's not like there's anyone there to call him out on it. Just to be safe, he takes Peter's hand as he walks to the trunk to get out their fishing poles and tackle box.

"Look, Tomy! It's a bird!" Peter shouts with very apparent enthusiasm.

"Yep," is Tony's only reply as he retrieves all their gear.

"Did you see it?! It flieded through the air!" Peter relays as he bounces on his toes. Tony has to admit, the kid not being able to use past tense very well is kind of adorable.

"Flew," Tony halfheartedly corrects.

"Yeah! It flew!" _Huh, not bad for a quick correction, _Tony notes. He supposes the toddler isn't without a brain after all. Once he has everything, he lazily waves to Happy who's going to wait for them to get back.

The walk down the pier is long. Much longer than Tony had anticipated. The old, wooden planks holding the pier together seem to defy all odds and continue to keep everything up. There are a few people here and there, but none that deter their morning routines to make a big deal about the billionaire and his new kid. He lets Peter run ahead, a bundle of pure excitement, and watches to make sure he doesn't somehow fall into the water. Before they get to the end, Tony stops next to the railing.

"Over here, Pete," he calls to the energized boy running across the wooden boards. As soon as Peter hears his name, he bolts over to Tony.

"Are we gonna play?" Peter asks eagerly as he tries to climb up the wooden railing.

"Ah ah, let's not do that," Tony quickly picks Peter up under the arms and sets him back down. Without hesitation, Peter tries to climb up the railing again. "What did I just say?" Tony asks rhetorically, picking the toddler up again only to set him down. Peter giggles, instantly seeing it as a game, and goes to do it again. Tony shakes his head with a smile at Peter's determination and hoists him up instead. "No climbing for you. How about you separate these lures for me?" He just wants to give Peter something to do to keep him busy and, of course, the lures that he offers the boy don't have any hooks. Unfortunately, Peter seems more interested in the ocean below them than the lures.

"It's the hocean!" For some reason, Peter adds an "h" to the beginning of "ocean." Tony doesn't have the heart or the patience to correct him again as the boy attempts to squirm out of Tony's grasp to get closer to the ocean.

"Alright, let's set you back down." Tony definitely doesn't want to go diving into the ocean after Peter. When he sets Peter down, he hands the toddler the box of dehooked lures. "Why don't you count those for me?" Tony will probably regret the request, but at least it'll keep Peter from diving headfirst into the ocean.

"M'kay!" Peter excitedly accepts. "One, two, three, four, fibe…" As Peter continues to count, Tony readies their fishing pole. Tony brought two, but then he realized that Peter can't exactly hold a full sized fishing pole all by himself. So, he's going to just have to hold the kid in front of him along with the pole. No problem. Piece of cake.

"Ready for some fishing?" Tony prompts when he's prepared enough.

"Uh-huh! There's twenny-seben!" Peter proudly announces as gets up from his crouched position.

"Nice work," Tony mildly praises as he picks up Peter once again. He knows for a fact that there's thirty, but he figures the kid was close enough. He sets Peter down so that he's standing on one of the wooden beams of the railing and has a beam crossing over his chest. That way he can still see what's happening in the water but can't fall in. Before Tony can even blink, Peter grabs at the fishing pole and swiftly tugs it from his grasp. "Hey!" Tony yells in surprise as Peter waves the pole in the air. He's quick to gain back control over both the pole and the toddler. "We're not gonna do that. Let me help you," he instructs calmly. _Put on a good show, the cameras will be watching, _Obadiah's text pops into his head and he plasters on a fake smile.

"But it's mine!" Peter counters with a sweet, genuine smile that puts Tony's to shame. Tony's expression softens minutely.

"Yeah, but we're going to do it together. Watch." He spends a good fifteen minutes trying to set up everything for them to fish, since he himself hasn't ever gone fishing before. Eventually, his multiple college degrees and engineering brain come in handy and get everything in order. He's the one who casts the line, but he lets Peter hold the rod. It only takes a few minutes for a tug on the line. _Thank god, _Tony thinks, _I didn't need to learn a lesson about patience through fishing. _

"Tomy! It's moving!" Peter yells, almost dropping the rod. Luckily, Tony also has a hold on it.

"Yep, that means there's a fish pulling on it. So you're going to slowly start to reel it in by turning this," Tony explains as he starts to crank the reel. He's surprised when Peter puts his hand over his to help reel the fish in too. Tony's chest feels tight and he momentarily loses focus on fishing. The kid's hand is so soft and pink compared to his rough, calloused one. Not to mention how much smaller Peter's hand looks on top of his. There's something about the contrast that makes his heart hurt.

"I got one!" Peter's exclamation breaks Tony's concentration on their hands and pulls him back to the present. Tony shakes off his thoughts and reels in the fish a bit faster.

"You're doing a good job, Pete. Keep it up," he does his best to encourage. He doesn't exactly know how to be encouraging, since he never received it from his own father, so he just guesses on what it should sound like.

"I caught him!" Peter shouts in pure joy as he practically vibrates with enthusiasm. It only takes a few more seconds for Tony to reel in the fish the rest of the way. He holds the fishing line so that the fish is suspended in the air in front of them. The fish isn't very big, it's rather small actually, but it still causes Peter's eyes to widen in wonder.

"Does he like me?" the toddler asks, reaching out to try to touch it. Tony doesn't understand why Peter would care if a fish likes him or not, but he humors the kid nonetheless.

"I'm sure it does," he reassures. Peter gasps in surprise and claps his hands together.

"What's his name?" Tony raises an eyebrow. Now it has to have a name?

"Um, I dunno," he answers honestly.

"You can name him, Tomy." Peter relinquishes the decision to Tony, looking up at the man with an irresistibly endearing smile and nothing but faith in his eyes.

"Sure. Yeah. Uh…" What the hell is he supposed to name a fish? Do you name them like pets? But he's never had a pet before either, not even a fish. "How about…Tiny?" The thing is tiny, after all, so it only makes logical sense. Peter looks back to the fish.

"I like Squishy," he counters sweetly. He ever so gently pets the fish's scales.

"Why'd you ask me then?" Tony inquires without any heat as he takes in the wholesome sight. How can a kid be so gentle? He thought they were supposed to be Hell on Wheels. Peter simply giggles at being caught, which manages to get Tony to smile. "We have to catch a bigger fish if we want to have it for dinner, though," he reminds, getting them back on track. "Pepper's not a big fan of fish but I am so I'm sure we could make it work. We could always find some use for this little guy. Besides, that-"

"We can't keep him, Tomy," Peter interrupts in a confident voice.

"What?" Tony questions, completely blindsided. "Why not?"

"He's too beautiful," Peter answers as if it's the most obvious answer in the world. "He's supposed to stay in the hocean." Tony can't believe what he's hearing. This kid, a four-year-old, is putting the life of a single fish first. He doesn't know whether to be impressed that Peter actually has empathy or concerned about his concern for a random fish. Of course, as if there were any doubt, Tony goes with the latter.

"It's just one fish," Tony points out, almost baffled. Peter looks from Tony to the fish and then back to Tony…before starting to crank the reel in the opposite direction, towards the water. Realizing that this is the one argument that he isn't going to win, Tony instead pulls the fishing line back up to unhook the fish. "If you want to catch and release, you have to unhook them before letting them go," he informs matter-of-factly as he releases the fish back into the ocean.

"Bye-bye, Squishy!" Peter waves as the fish falls. Tony instead watches Peter. He just doesn't understand what makes the kid tick.

"There's a billion and one other fish out there, Pete. Putting one back isn't gonna matter." Peter looks at him, then points to the fish as it slowly disappears.

"It mattered to that one." With those few words, Tony's entire perspective is flipped upside down. The kid is right. It may not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but to that one fish it meant everything. It's their life, their entire world. Regardless of the amount of fish out there, it at least mattered to that one fish.

Same goes for humans. There are billions upon billions of humans, but if one dies, the loss is felt across multiple people. Like what he felt when his parents died. How it affected him.

A life lost is a life lost.

He slowly smiles at the thought of such a young boy somehow being wiser than himself. A real smile. He doesn't know when the smile went from being fake to being real. Peter is so down to Earth and genuine that it blows his mind. He watches as Peter's curls whip from the wind and absentmindedly clears them from the toddler's face.

"C'mon, Munchkin, let's get you some food," he suggests as he picks the boy up.

"Can I have french fries?" Peter asks hopefully. With a sigh, Tony relents.

"Sure thing." How could he say no at this point?

"And I get to ride on your shoulders? Please?" Peter pats on Tony's shoulders with a bright smile. Tony tries his hardest to keep his heart from going soft.

"Only 'cause you said 'please,'" he easily gives in and lifts Peter up onto his shoulders. Tony tries to ignore the happy laughs coming from the boy as they walk down the pier, but he fails miserably. He tries to be annoyed by Peter's hands in his hair, undoubtedly messing it up. But he can't be. So he just hopes that he's doing the right thing. Even if deep down, he knows he's not.

* * *

**Notes:**

AAAAAHHHH BREAKING NEWS: TONY STARK MIGHT HAVE A HEART  
As always, thank you for reading❤ 💛💚💙💜

AGAIN, check out SuperHeroTiger on Tumblr for some amazing fanart of last chapter's press conference! Their super supportive and the art is absolutely precious❤  
superherotiger2point0/tumblr/com/post/186909607183/quick-irondad-drawing-of-the-new-chapter-fake-it

AND fiapie_01's fanart of Peter and Stebe on my Instagram kevy_fanfics💙  
www/instagram/com/p/B1EhmOJg9Li/

If you'd like to keep up to date on upcoming fics and get sneak peeks, feel free to follow one of my accounts  
-Twitter: Kevy_Fanfics & kevy_grayce  
-Insta: kevy_fanfics & KevyGrayce


	6. I'll Watch Over You

**Notes:**

Hey all,,,how are we all doing following the news? ;-; If you haven't heard, supposedly negotiations between Sony and Disney have come to a standstill regarding Spider-Man's involvement in the MCU. Don't lose hope though! So far, they're only at a standstill! Hopefully both companies can pull it together and work something out. It'll be okay :) 💕 No arguing over who's fault it is in the comments please, but hopefully this chapter cheers us all up!

Remember that thing I mentioned last chapter about Tony possibly having a heart? Yeah, we get to see that this chapter ;) Also, a nice dose of angst and inner turmoil!

Have fun and stay safe!❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

I'll Watch Over You 

After going to lunch, which entailed a double cheeseburger for Tony and a basket of fries for Peter, they head back to the car where Happy is not-so-patiently waiting for them. Tony walks towards the car, Peter once again insisting that he rides on his shoulders. When Tony gets close enough, he notices the scowl on Happy's face. Raising an eyebrow, he approaches the driver's window.

"How was fishing?" Happy asks conversationally, though he doesn't seem to be too invested in an answer.

"We caught a little fish and, and I named him Squishy. I really liked him," Peter answers without hesitation as if he were asked exclusively. "Like from, from Nemo!" Happy nods perceptively to make sure Peter is acknowledged, but keeps his eyes trained on Tony.

"What's wrong, Hap?" Tony asks wearily, already having caught on to the tension. He's had enough excitement for one day, he's just ready to go home.

"You failed to mention that we'd have an audience, Boss," Happy answers with a slight edge to his voice and a disapproving look. He nods to his left and Tony follows the gesture with his eyes. There are a few people standing across the street at the convenience store, seemingly normal. It takes Tony a few seconds to notice them shielding cameras by their sides. Press. Probably tipped off by Obadiah. It was the plan, after all. It's the whole reason they even went fishing. So…why does Tony feel frustrated. Angry. Protective?

"Let's just get back home. Don't let them follow us, the last thing we need is a mosh pit at the house." With that, he opens the back door and gently lifts Peter off his shoulders.

"Where are we going now?" Peter asks as he's placed in the car.

"We're going home so that you can nap," Tony supplies while making sure Peter gets buckled. It's around 1:30 pm, so Tony figures that the kid should be conked out anytime soon.

"How come?" Peter watches as the seatbelt is clicked into place, then looks up at Tony.

"Because it's almost your nap time." Tony doesn't have the most patience in the world, but he's getting better. He shuts the door and gets in on the other side, only for Peter to continue asking questions.

"Do you nap too?"

"Not anymore." After Tony slides in and buckles, Peter leans towards him and rests his head on the man's side. Peter's head doesn't reach up to Tony's shoulder, even in the booster seat, so he settles for leaning on Tony's waist. Of course, Tony is immediately frozen. He holds his arm up so that he isn't touching the kid, unsure of what else to do.

"Why not?" Peter doesn't notice anything wrong, so he gives into his curiosity. Slowly but surely, Tony lowers his arm and carefully sets it on Peter's back.

"Well, I work a lot more so I don't have time to nap," Tony tries to explain. Underneath his hand he can feel Peter's back rise and fall as he breathes. The car starts pulling out of the parking lot.

"Don' you get tired?" Peter asks with a yawn. Tony softly chuckles at the way Peter's eyelids start to droop.

"A little bit," he answers honestly, if the dark bags under his eyes are anything to go by. But he has never put too much thought into it, it's just his normal. Sleep deprivation is every adult's normal.

"You need a nap time too," Peter informs as if he's an expert on the matter.

"I'll be sure to look into that." Tony distractedly brushes some of Peter's bangs to the side and out of his face before he can catch himself. _ No no no, don't get attached. _ He pulls his hand away.

"M'kay, Tomy. Imma take a nap." All it takes is a few seconds for Peter to be out like a light, his eyes slowly fluttering shut. Just like that, the kid is asleep. That was a lot easier than Tony had expected, but he hadn't expected to go soft either. He isn't supposed to like Peter. It isn't part of the plan. He's only supposed to get the publicity he needs and get his business's reputation back above water. It isn't…it isn't meant to be _ hard. _ It's supposed to be easy. Straightforward. His whole life has been nothing but hard, couldn't he get a damn break just this once?

"You gonna explain to me what's going on?" Happy speaks up once he has noticed that Peter is asleep. Tony raises an eyebrow to urge his friend to elaborate. "As your chauffeur and bodyguard I feel like I should be kept in the loop about press. No way they could've found you that fast," Happy observes. He glances at Tony through the rear view mirror, then looks back to the road.

"Well," Tony clears his throat, "not that you're obligated to know, but since I'm such an upstanding guy I'll tell you. Pretty sure you heard about the whole adoption fiasco. Obi…may or may not be tipping a few people here and there to a fatherly inclined Tony Stark." He chooses his words very carefully, but it still feels disgusting no matter how he states it. Regardless of how he puts it, he's still taking advantage of Peter's feelings. No amount of fancy wording will change that. The sweet, softly snoring kid shielded by Tony's arm is nothing but a means to an end.

"What exactly is your MO, Boss?" Happy asks as if it's the most casual conversation topic ever. Tony looks up from Peter to make eye contact with Happy in the rear view mirror.

"Who says I have an MO?" Tony fires back, using his wit as a defense mechanism. One thing that might never change is him and his guarded feelings. He keeps those pesky things under lock and key for a reason.

"You don't do kids. You barely deal with adults," Happy expertly points out. He's been able to gather from the adorable kid and the paparazzi that this is all some kind of stunt. It isn't the most shocking thing, coming from Tony, but he never would've thought that a child would be dragged into it.

"Your point is…?" Of course Tony knows exactly what Happy is alluding to, he's just choosing to ignore it. Happy holds his gaze.

"Just hope you know what you're doing." He lowers his sunglasses and focuses on the road. "So, what do you think about him?" Tony furrows his brow and narrows his eyes.

"Who? Peter?" he asks for clarification in a somewhat hushed voice. All Happy does is raise his eyebrows above his glasses as if the question was self explanatory. "He's…not a bad kid." Tony begrudgingly relents as he averts his eyes.

"Sure, Boss," is all Happy says in return. He can tell that Tony is starting to get soft when it comes to the kid. Tony never lets people touch him, so Peter riding on his shoulders and now sleeping in his lap is a big deal.

The traffic on the drive back to the mansion isn't too bad. It takes all of fifteen minutes to get back home and Peter stays conked out the whole time, much to Tony's relief as well as discomfort. He doesn't have to worry about the kid talking the whole way home but he has also been, dare he say, _ cuddling _another human for the entire ride.

"Where do you want dropped off, Boss?" Happy asks as they pull up to the mansion. Tony carefully considers his options with the sleeping child against him.

"Let's pull up to the front. I don't wanna worry about him waking up in the elevator. Last time he had a fit so we don't need to have a repe-" Peter screams out of the blue, thrashing his arms around wildly. His small, flailing hands almost hit Tony in the face but the man quickly leans away in surprise.

"What's going on?!" Happy questions over Peter's blood curdling screams. And man, does the kid _ scream. _ The kind of guttural cry that only a child can produce.

_ "No!" _Peter shrieks as loud as he can. "Go 'way!" His eyes are still closed and his face is bright red as he thrashes. Without another thought, Tony catches Peter's rapidly moving fists as gently as he can.

"Hey, it's okay Pete. I'm gonna need you to wake up for me." Tony tries to keep his voice calm, but still has to raise it in order for his words to even be heard over the yelling. As Tony tries to calm down the hysterical toddler, Happy rushes out of the car and opens Peter's door. "It's okay, you're okay. You're safe. Nothing's going to happen to you. There's nothing wrong, I promise." Tony has no idea why he's making something as meaningless as a promise to a kid, but somehow it just feels like the right thing to do. With his wrists constrained by Tony's hands, Peter kicks his feet as if trying to get free.

"No! No, no, no!" Peter screeches before devolving into nothing but hiccuping sobs. Tony has never heard anything worse than Peter sobbing, and for some reason it causes him just as much pain as Peter seems to be in.

"Hap, unlock the kid's seatbelt," Tony urgently orders. Happy immediately unlatches the seatbelt and Tony wastes no more time in pulling the toddler on his lap and into arms. "Shh, it's okay. It was just a bad dream. Calm down, buddy. You're okay. I got you." Tony continues to whisper the string of reassurances into Peter's ear as he rocks them back and forth in the car. The loud, heartbreaking sobs slowly die down into soft cries. There isn't a second where Tony stops rocking the two of them. One of his hands is rubbing the poor kid's back while the other gently presses Peter's head against his chest. He can feel the way Peter's small, delicate hands tighten around his shirt in a death grip. After a few more minutes of this, Peter carefully lifts his head to look up at Tony with that largest, most sorrowful eyes the man has ever seen.

"Tomy?" Peter asks in a wobbly voice. Tony swallows thickly at how distraught the kid appears to be. He smoothes Peter's hair away from his face, although his curls are damp with sweat.

"Hey, Pete. Ready to go to bed?" he asks in a soft tone. The way Peter lowers his head back onto Tony's chest is answer enough. With a deep breath, Tony manages to pull them both out of the car with success.

"You good?" Happy double checks, eyeing the pair as Tony absentmindedly strokes the back of Peter's head.

"Yeah, I'll just walk him inside and lay him down for his nap. Thanks, Happy," Tony assures in a whisper as he walks to the house.

"No problem, Boss. Be careful," Happy warns before getting back into the car and driving it towards the underground garage.

Tony jogs inside as he cradles the small boy to his chest, having no clue what he's supposed to do to help. Pepper is out dealing with meetings and press, so can't help him. That leaves Obadiah who's the only other person of high stature keeping the business off the ground. Tony has no help this time.

"Good afternoon, Sir." J.A.R.V.I.S. greets as Tony bursts into the house. "There are three missed calls from Colonel James Rhodes an unopened message fro-"

"J.A.R.V.I.S., turn on the heating blanket in the kid's room," Tony interrupts as he rushes the crying toddler down the hall.

"Right away, Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. instantly complies without fuss. As soon as Tony gets to the room, the door being automatically opened for him, he runs to the bed and gently lays Peter down.

"Don't wanna go night-night again," Peter cries as he attempts to sit back up. Tony places a hand on the kid's chest and presses him back down.

"The bed's warm, Pete. You don't have to sleep but at least get warm," Tony offers in a hushed voice in hopes that it'll calm the kid. However, Peter still shakes his head and tries to fight against Tony's hand. "For me? Please?" Now, Tony isn't a desperate man, but he would readily admit to begging a toddler to lie down. Peter stares up at him with eyes that almost resemble glass before relaxing into the mattress. With a silent thank you, Tony lifts the covers over Peter and gets him tucked in.

"I'm scared," Peter admits in a small, heartbreaking voice. Tony's eyes crease in concern as he softly strokes Peter's head to help relax him.

"Do you, uh, want to talk about it?" Tony awkwardly offers, but Peter desperately shakes his head. "Alright, okay. You're safe, I promise. J.A.R.V.I.S. will be here and if you need anything he-"

"Tomy, no! Don't go. I'm scared," Peter reiterates in a whisper, gripping Tony's wrist with his small hands. Tony is scared too, but for different reasons. He's getting…too close.

"Pete… I have grown-up things to do." He doesn't.

"Jarbis can't help, he's in the ceiling," Peter counters with a pout. "Will you stay if I say pretty please?" Tony would be damned if he said no to Peter's big brown eyes. With a halfhearted sigh, Tony carefully sits on the bed and lies down next to the boy, shoes and all. He crosses his ankles and puts his hands behind his head.

"There. Can you try sleeping now?" he asks, trying not to seem too impatient. Peter turns onto his side to face Tony.

"Is it safe?" Peter checks warily as he searches Tony's face. There's so much trust on the boy's face, which stuns Tony every time.

"Yeah, kid. It's safe." Tony humors in a comforting voice.

"Promise you're gonna stay?" Tony sighs.

"Promise." Apparently Tony's assurance is enough for the toddler, because his eyelids start to droop.

"M'kay. Night-night, Tomy. Lub you," Peter mumbles tiredly as his eyes slowly shut. Tony, however, is shocked. Peter just said that he loved him. Tony…doesn't say it back. Then again, Peter also said he loved a room of reporters, so Tony takes it with a grain of salt. Or at least he tries to. He watches the kid sleep and knows he could just leave and Peter wouldn't know the difference but…something is stopping him. What if Peter has another nightmare? What if Peter wakes up screaming again and he isn't there to help him? Tony Stark wouldn't stay with a sleeping toddler until he woke up but…god, that's exactly what he's going to do. This whole thing is getting way out of hand.

"Hey, J?" Tony quietly prompts as he stares down at the peacefully sleeping Peter.

"Yes?" J.A.R.V.I.S. immediately replies in an equally hushed voice. Tony absentmindedly twirls one of Peter's curls in his finger.

"Has Peter had nightmares before?" he asks, wanting to get everything figured out.

"Unfortunately, yes. On two separate occasions besides today." Tony frowns in confusion at J.A.R.V.I.S.'s answer.

"Why wasn't I told?" he demands, feeling a sudden sense to protect Peter.

"During both instances, you were in the workshop. You very specifically stated that no one is to bother you while you're working. I talked to Peter the second time." Once again, Tony's speechless. Peter is turning to J.A.R.V.I.S. about nightmares because Tony has been ignoring him… It's all far too reminiscent of himself talking to _ his _ Jarvis while Howard was ignoring him. It's a painful reminder. Of course this time it's his own fault. With a deep breath, he looks to see if Peter is breathing too. He doesn't quite know why he's checking if Peter is breathing, but he needs to make sure.

"Remove that protocol," he orders.

"Good choice, Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. commends, instantly removing the protocol.

"And you alert me whenever he has a nightmare. Anything he asks, you direct to me. No matter where I am or what I'm doing. Got all that?" _ I'm going insane just for a kid, _ Tony internally berates. Should he move Peter's head up the pillow more? It doesn't look very comfortable.

"Of course. I'm always here to listen," J.A.R.V.I.S. confirms.

"Thanks, J.A.R.V.I.S.. You're the best."

"I am, aren't I? My pleasure." With the sarcastic roll of his eyes, Tony pulls out his phone to pass the time. Before he can even stop himself, he's searching through online shops to find stuff for Peter. That somehow turns into buying parenting books. There's no way he can do this blind anymore and he'd rather die before asking for help from someone. So, naturally, this is the next best option. He buys about ten, a few titled "Positive Parenting" and "The Tantrum Survival Guide," before he stops himself from getting any more. As per usual, he expedites the shipping to overnight. Though he'll continue denying himself and others that he's starting to like Peter, whether he wants to or not.

After about a half hour of searching for books and toys, he gets a text from Obadiah with a link attached to it.

**Obi Stane**

Obadiah: _ Looking good out there. Keep up the good work. news/Tony-Stark… _

As soon as he opens the link, a news article from this morning pops up to reveal two pictures. The first picture is from yesterday's press conference, and it shocks him to say the least. It shows him with a genuine, content smile as he watches a very animated Peter answering the reporters' questions. He doesn't even remember looking at Peter like that, he must've done it subconsciously… The second photo is from their morning fishing trip, where Peter is on Tony's shoulders. Both of them have wide smiles as they walk off the pier. He had no idea he looked so happy with Peter…

The conflicting moment is interrupted by a warning from J.A.R.V.I.S..

"Colonel Rhodes is currently coming up the elevator to see you."

"What?!" Tony whispers harshly. The last thing he needs is another one of Rhodey's long-winded lectures. That's all he gets anymore, not that he doesn't deserve them.

"I tried to tell you that he left multiple voicemails. You were preoccupied with Peter, which took precedence," J.A.R.V.I.S. easily explains.

"Well tell him I'm _ still _preoccupied," Tony urges through clenched teeth.

"I'm afraid-"

_ "Tony!" _ The shout comes from the other room, but it's enough to make Peter stir underneath the covers. Peter opens his eyes blearily, nearly sending Tony into a panic.

"No, go back to sleep, bud. It's okay, shh." Tony softly strokes Peter's head, which luckily does the trick. Peter's eyes slowly begin to close until he's once again asleep. Tony releases a breath of relief and carefully gets off the bed. He doesn't want to leave Peter, but he doesn't want Rhodey to barge in and wake the exhausted toddler up either. That leaves him with one option. He leaves the room without making a sound to not wake up Peter, already feeling guilty, and quietly leaves the room to face the music.

* * *

**Notes:**

WAS THAT THE CUTE FILLED ANGST YOU CRAVED? well it's only the beginning,, Thank you for reading!❤ 💛💚💙💜

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	7. Uncle Rhodey

**Notes:**

Hey everyone! You have NO idea how excited I am for this chapter! You could probably tell that we're gonna get some Rhodey and I absolutely adore how this chapter turned out. Probably one of my favorites :) You'll see what I mean!

Something I'm also really excited about is some of the references I make in this chapter. There's an 80s RDJ movie reference (because I love the movie) and you'll know the other wordplay when you see it ;) Let me know what you catch!

Thank you so much for all the support, have fun and stay safe!❤💛💚💙💜

* * *

Chapter Seven: Uncle Rhodey

"Tony! I know you're here!" Rhodey calls into the mansion, trying to keep the anger and frustration out of his voice. His tone settles on something more urgent, but he knows Tony will catch the anger either way. Tony struts into the room with his hands casually in his pockets as if he weren't being yelled for.

"Hello, dear. Did you bring home the milk like I asked?" he asks with an innocent smile.

"Cut the crap. This isn't a joke. Who the hell do you think you are adopting a kid?!" And there it is. The final person in Tony's small, personal circle that he knew would come to question his sanity. He knows he deserves it, but the lack of faith from those closest to him is disconcerting. Is he really _that _ bad? Not ready to face that bombshell, Tony puts on his familiar, overconfident facade.

"Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, adoptive father," he supplies effortlessly as he meanders to the kitchen. He knows it isn't the mature answer, but he says it anyway. If there's anything that can save him, it's coffee. Rhodey, however, stomps after him with a frightening determination.

"Take this seriously! For once in your life, own up to something. You haven't thought this through. This kid is _alive, _ Tony. They remember these things and they aren't as oblivious as you think. He isn't one of your designer suits that you can throw away after you're done with it!" Tony huffs indignantly and turns to face his friend with his eyebrows raised.

"Yes, I'm aware kids aren't oblivious, thanks. Which is why we should keep the shouting down to a minimum before you wake up the Munchkin," Tony states with a calm demeanor. Rhodey's eyes don't break the intense eye contact, but neither do Tony's.

"You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do," Rhodey warns, yet keeps his voice lowered now knowing the kid is asleep close by.

"Well, that all depends on your source," Tony starts. He opens the fridge and pulls out the apple juice. "Did you hear from the adoring public, my lovely assistant, or the head honcho himself?" It then occurs to him that he doesn't have a sippy cup for Peter to drink the juice out of. "J, add some mundane stuff to my latest express order. Kiddy cups, plastic utensils, blankets, yada yada. Have at it." He waves J.A.R.V.I.S. off nonchalantly.

"Of course, Sir. I'll be sure to add more parenting literature to the list," J.A.R.V.I.S. adds, earning a glare from Tony.

"Uh, the news…" Rhodey answers Tony's previous question, momentarily distracted by the other conversation. "Parenting literature, huh?" he echoes as he crosses his arms. Tony attempts to keep his nonchalant attitude.

"Mhm. Can never be too prepared for parenthood." There's a hint of sarcasm to his voice. There's no malice behind it, but there are unspoken words that Rhodey can't place.

"Alright, you _have _ to catch me up here. I mean, you can't stand there and tell me honest to God that you just up and adopted a kid." Rhodey stands expectantly, hoping the explanation is at least decent.

"If you wanted to full rundown, you came to the wrong person. That's Obi's area of 'expertise.'" Tony adds air quotes for effect, then minutely rolls his eyes.

"Obadiah? Tones, don't tell me…"

"Yep," Tony pops the "p" as he leans on the kitchen counter. "Accomplices. Talked me into it. Not gonna blame it all on him though, I agreed." For some reason, he can't help feeling guilty. It's a feeling he isn't used to by any stretch of the word, but this was a kid. Not just any kid, this was _Peter. _

"You've got to be kidding me." Rhodey rubs his forehead. He's been around Tony for all of five minutes and his stress is already through the roof. Tony, on the other hand, laughs humorlessly.

"No kidding here. Just apple juice and bad life choices," he quips.

"So, what's the endgame for taking advantage of a kid?" Rhodey prods, maintaining his disapproving posture.

"First off, his name is Peter," Tony corrects matter-of-factly as he holds up a single finger. "Second, there isn't an endgame…per se. We make sure he's happy, I survive, and the company thrives." He shrugs as if it's the most simple thing ever. _Since when has Peter's happiness become a factor? _ Rhodey scoffs.

"Of course, you're just using him for media coverage." He shakes his head in disbelief. The conclusion stirs something in Tony. He hates the idea of Peter being used, but that's what he's doing isn't it? Damn emotions. Before Tony can protest, loud cries are carried down the hall. Tony immediately jumps into action without hesitation and rushes past Rhodey to get to Peter. He barges into the bedroom to see Peter sitting up in bed with his eyes red and tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Hey, bud. No tears, it's alright." Tony tries to reassure the kid as he sits in front of him. He gently wipes the tears with his thumbs, an action he refuses to think about in the moment, and cradles Peter to his chest.

"I, I woke up and you, and you were gone!" Peter sobs, gripping Tony's t-shirt for dear life. Tony rubs Peter's back and tucks his head under his chin. Rhodey watches silently in the doorway, taking in the scene as the two rock back and forth. "You promised!" Peter wails before burying his face in Tony's shoulder. The action just about breaks Tony's heart in half. He gently holds the back of the boy's head.

"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break our promise. I won't do it again," Tony quickly consoles. Peter sniffs, his chin still trembling, and looks up to meet Tony's eyes.

"Don't go," he repeats his plea from earlier. Tony finds himself nodding without so much as thinking about it.

"I'm not goin' anywhere, kiddo." He rests his cheek on top of Peter's head and simply holds him as he calms down. His eyes latch onto Rhodey's and, to be honest, he almost forgot his friend was there entirely. "Hey, you wanna say hi to my friend?" he softly asks Peter and tries to get a better look at his face. Peter shakes his head without lifting it. Tony can't help but chuckle, causing Rhodey to jokingly roll his eyes.

"Not funny," Peter pouts, holding onto Tony's shirt even tighter. Tony clears his throat and presses his lips together to keep from smiling. He can't help it when Peter uses that pouty voice.

"You're right. Not funny. Sorry." Tony nods his head in agreement as he makes an overly serious face. "Do you want apple juice instead?" Peter peaks up at him with tired, damp eyes.

"Mhm," he agrees and gets situated by hugging Tony's neck. "Up." Tony smiles with a shake of his head, but stands regardless. He supports Peter's weight and lightly placed a hand on his back to make sure the boy doesn't tip forward.

"To the kitchen we go. Care to join us?" he asks Rhodey with a forced, pleasant tone as he walks past him. Rhodey rolls his eyes at his friend's childish attitude, but follows nonetheless.

"I'm invested now, so might as well," he mutters. Tony sets Peter down on the countertop and searches for a plastic cup. Does he even have plastic cups? All he knows is that he has shot glasses, champagne flutes, wine glasses…okay he _might _have a drinking problem. Not like he has a bar anymore. Peter yawns widely and rubs his bleary eyes with his fists. Out of nowhere, Rhodey sees Peter's eyes open comically wide. Well, it's comical until Peter attempts to jump off the counter. Peter jumps off in a panic, causing Rhodey to lung forward to try to catch him, but Tony's lightning fast reflexes manage to catch the toddler first in midair.

"And what on Earth do you think you're doing?" Tony demands breathlessly. He swears he can feel his heart in his throat and his hands shaking from the unexpected adrenaline rush. Still, Peter tries to get out of Tony's hold.

"We left Stebe!" Peter shouts as he squirms. He's by no means stronger than Tony, but wow was he surprisingly strong for a kid. Are kids this strong? In Tony's defense, he has never been around kids. Rhodey stares at the two as if they're insane.

"Alright, alright. I'll get the bear and Rhodey here will make sure you have your juice," Tony proposes. When Peter continues to squirm, Tony holds him underneath his arm like a football. "Think you can handle that, Missus?"

"You get the bear, I got Peter," Rhodey confirms, choosing to ignore Tony's sass. Tony places Peter back on the counter and points at him.

"Stay. And listen to Rhodey. I'll get your bear," he promises as he carefully walks to the hall. "Rhodey, turn on the TV. It'll keep him busy."

"His name is Stebe! He's Captain Mamerica!" Peter sticks out his bottom lip and tries to cross his arms like grownups do when they're upset, but he can't figure out which arm to put on top. Rhodey smiles and walks closer to pour the apple juice for Peter who's happily kicking his feet back and forth.

"Hi. Peter. My name's Rhodey, it's nice to meet you." He hands Peter the cup, which Peter happily accepts, and turns on the kitchen's TV. The channel that pops up is some news station, but it's good background noise.

"Hi," is all Peter says as he looks at the juice before drinking it. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome. You have nice manners," he praises in a lighthearted voice. Peter, on the other hand, is completely distracted by drinking his tasty juice. When Tony enters the kitchen again, he gasps loudly. It doesn't phase Peter, but Rhodey quickly looks to his friend.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., change the channel to PBS Kids." Tony orders. Without a word, the screen blinks over to some kid's show.

"SpongeBob!" Peter exclaims with a wide smile. "I like the name Karen." Ignoring Tony's glare, Rhodey sends Peter a questioning look.

"How come?"

"She's Plankton's wife and she's nice. Plankton isn't bery nice but SpongeBob is and Squidward can be nice sometimes. But Karen's my faborite," the toddler easily rambles his explanation.

"I leave you alone for two seconds and you put on the _news?! _ You gotta put on quality programming or you'll rot his brain!" Tony scolds in a whisper. He grabs the empty cup midair as Peter throws it, who wasn't even paying attention to the TV, in exchange for Stebe. Peter quickly latches onto his bear with a tight hug and lets Tony pick him up off the countertop. "Unbelievable. Shame on you," Tony adds as he passes Rhodey.

"Karma's gonna get you one day," Rhodey warns with a smile as Tony carries Peter into the living room.

"As long as it's not today, that's fine with me." Tony slowly puts the kid down so that he's surrounded by all the toys they currently have in the house. The new ones he ordered should be arriving within the hour. Peter immediately stands back up and runs over to the corner of the room. He quickly spins in circles, then stops to face the wall and laughs hysterically.

"Buy him all these toys and he laughs at the walls," Tony scoffs, rubbing his forehead. Peter runs back to them and is quickly entertained by the circle of toys. Tony manages to back away without disturbing him.

"Publicity stunt?" Rhodey clarifies with a smug smile when Tony is within earshot. Tony shoots him an exasperated look, but can't hold it. He sighs and rubs his face.

"Fine, ya caught me. I'm horrible person and this was very irresponsible. _But," _his hard eyes bore into Rhodey's, "that's not what this is about anymore." Tony swallows thickly. He can't believe what he's saying. Is he really admitting this? How did this even happen? Rhodey slowly nods in understanding. The two sit on the couch and watch as Peter occupies himself.

"What made you change your mind about Peter? The Tony I know wouldn't be anywhere close to a kid. Now you're picking him up and comforting him and…" _Caring, _the unspoken word hangs in the air. Tony takes a moment to think. Considers how he adores the way Peter talks and answers questions. How innocent the kid is and trusting and hopeful and loving. He said he _loves _ Tony. That's…that's a lot to take in. Tony's father never said he loved him. Howard never took him to the pier either, or fishing. Actually, his father never did anything with him. That's when it clicks.

"I can give him the childhood…that I didn't get." His voice is tight and full of emotion that will remain unsaid, but that one sentence says it all. All the conflict and pain he has been going through for years resurfaced simply by Peter's presence.

Rhodey stares at his closest friend since college, a man who he has come to know as irresponsible, determined, stubborn, noncommittal, and frankly an asshole. This isn't the same Tony Stark. He _has _ changed, because of Peter. Seemingly for the better. Rhodey never thought he'd see the day where there's pure love in Tony's eyes for someone besides himself. But now, the way Tony looks at Peter and Pepper, he knows he was wrong.

"Tell me about him," Rhodey prompts. Tony raises a curious eyebrow at him, but complies and slightly purses his lips in thought.

"He's a smart kid, that's for damn sure. I didn't expect him to be so…aware of everything. He seems so mature for his age. God, you wanna hear what he told me today? We were fishing and he threw the fish back and said 'it mattered to that one.' He actually _taught _ me a lesson, and I'm the adult. I'm supposed to teach him things. Have you seen his eyes? I swear, I can't tell him no when looks up at me with those big browns. Every time I look at him, it feels like my heart just about breaks in half. The only downside is he loves that Captain Rogers almost as much as my old man did." He complains halfheartedly with a scoff. As he rambles, which he rarely does, he keeps his eyes trained on Peter as he plays. There's a soft smile on his lips that he doesn't even notice.

"If I didn't know any better, it'd sound like you love him," Rhodey teases, but his tone is sincere. He isn't used to seeing his friend so genuine. Tony whips his head to Rhodey with a shocked look that would have you thinking Rhodey accused him of murder, not love.

"Bold of you to assume I have a heart to love with," Tony fires back. Of course, covering up his feelings with humor. Rhodey knows this tactic well. "Watch this," Tony elbows Rhodey's side to get his attention before calling to Peter, "Hey, Pete, who's your best friend?" Peter turns around with a blank face as if it's an inconvenience to be bothered, then smiles brightly at the question.

"You, Tomy!" he answers happily before turning his attention back to his toys. Tony looks to Rhodey with a proud smirk.

"Okay, that was cute," Rhodey admits with a chuckle. Then, he notices something. "You're not letting him call you Dad?" Tony clears his throat at the question and clasps his hands in front of him comfortably.

"Absolutely not." He waves the notion off. Rhodey sighs and rubs his forehead.

"You can't do that, Tones," he warns out of exasperation. He should've seen this coming, Tony just can't commit to the idea.

"Do I look like dad material to you? My gosh." Tony once again tries to make a joke out of it, keeping his tone light with feigned shock. Peter plays with his stuffed animals and toy car, oblivious to the tension just behind him.

"You're literally a father by law now," Rhodey reminds as he does his best to keep the conversation on track. However, Tony has something different in mind.

"Pete! Say 'love' for me."

"Lub," Peter says absentmindedly while making Stebe march. Tony gestures to the kid as if he's the most brilliant thing on the planet. All Rhodey does is stare at him as if he's insane.

"Kids aren't toys, Tony. You have to teach 'em things too. Sometimes they don't know the answer, so you have to make it a learning experience." Rhodey approaches Peter and kneels beside him with a friendly smile. "Hey, little man, whatcha got there?" Without looking up, Peter answers,

"My car."

"Nice!" Rhodey praises enthusiastically. "Can you spell that for me?" Again, without looking at Rhodey or away from his playing, Peter patiently replies.

"C-a-r," he spells correctly.

"Good job! Do you know how to spell…" Rhodey looks at Peter's toys. He wants to see what Peter spell, but also wants to show Tony how to teach a kid, so he chooses a harder one. "Bunny?"

"B-u-n-n-y." This causes both Rhodey and Tony's eyes to widen slightly. Peter doesn't notice and picks up Stebe instead. "This is Stebe! He's Captain Mamerica," he says matter-of-factly as he shows Rhodey his bear.

"Hey, Peter?" Tony calls carefully, his face scrunched in thought.

"Mhm?"

"Can you spell that one?" Peter looks up to see Tony pointing at a different stuffed animal.

"E-l-e…p-h-a-n-t," he recites, struggling a bit more. Tony approaches the pair and slowly crouches next to the kid.

"Where'd you learn to spell like that?" He tries to act casual and not sound as curious as he feels.

"I teached myself. Are you gonna play?" Peter smiles in anticipation and looks into Tony's eyes with hope.

"Taught," Tony corrects, but picks up the stuffed elephant anyways. He isn't exactly sure how he's supposed to play with Peter, so he just lightly bounces it on the floor.

"Yeah, I taught myself," Peter repeats with a nod and continues to play. Both the men marvel at the fact that a four-year-old taught himself to read. Neither of them know how to react. Rhodey is the first to compose himself, leaving Tony to stare at Peter in awe.

"How'd you do that?" Rhodey prompts.

"I used pra-" Peter stops himself with a huff and tries again, "practice books." His pronunciation is still wrong, but Tony doesn't have the heart to make him try again. "I was _this _ many!" Peter holds up two fingers. Two years old. Peter was _two years old _ when he taught himself to read.

"Unbelievable," Tony says under his breath, but tries to focus on the elephant toy.

"But I'm not so good with my numbers," Peter admits. He tilts his head in concentration and drives his car along the floor.

"Tony's _great _ with numbers," Rhodey points out, smirking at Tony. "He could help you out." Before Tony can decline, like his instincts scream at him to, Peter gasps dramatically.

"You do math?!" Peter asks him, a sense of wonder and awe in his voice.

"I…do." Tony answers hesitantly. No matter how hard he tries, he can't lie to Peter. He can't turn him down when the kid looks so excited.

"Can you teach me, please?" Peter wonders politely as he jumps to his feet, toys forgotten. Tony takes a deep breath, glancing to Rhodey before nodding. "Thanks, Tomy!" Peter leaps forward and hugs Tony's middle as tight as he can, which isn't very tight but Tony appreciates it nonetheless. Tony awkwardly pats Peter's back. He doesn't understand why the physical affection still bothers him when he carried the boy to his room, but he tries not to dwell on. Instead, he takes Rhodey's advice and tries to teach. "What do we say to Rhodey?" Peter pulls away and carefully waddles past his toys over to Rhodey.

"Thanks, Rhodey," he repeats politely and hugs the other man too. Rhodey doesn't hesitate in hugging Peter back.

"You're very welcome, but you can call me _Uncle _Rhodey," he offers with a sly grin directed at Tony. _If he thinks that'll pressure me into being called 'dad,' he's in for a rude awakening, _Tony thinks accompanied by an eyeroll. Peter, however, pulls back and looks at Rhodey with conflicted eyes.

"Uncle?" Peter repeats, looking down. Tony is immediately by his side when he notices the boy's mild distress.

"What's wrong, bud?" He places a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder. For a few seconds, Peter doesn't speak. Then, out of nowhere, he makes eye contact with Rhodey.

"You can call me Petey," he offers before toddling back to his toys. Tony slowly shifts his eyes to meet Rhodey's equally confused ones. He'll ask J.A.R.V.I.S. about a possible uncle when Peter isn't around to hear. Rhodey's phone buzzes in his pocket, which he checks wordlessly.

"You're not gonna like this," he warns. That immediately grabs Tony's attention.

"What?"

"Obadiah wants to talk with both of us. Meeting in a half hour." Tony sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. He doesn't want to deal with this right now.

"I don't know if he's noticed, but I kind of have a kid to watch. Last I checked, we don't have a Mary Poppins," he grumbles as he runs a hand through his frazzled hair.

"Can Pepper come watch him?" Rhodey offers, but Tony shakes his head. She's practically running the business at this point, so Tony can't take her away from that.

"A delivery truck has arrived, Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. cuts in. Tony's head perks up and a smirk grows on his face.

"Or we can take Pete with us," he proposes instead. Rhodey's eyes narrow, not quite understanding.

"You're joking, right?" Tony simply maintains his smirk and hops to his feet to answer the door. Obadiah is in for a treat.

* * *

Notes:

Ugh that chapter just feels so personally fulfilling ;-; I wonder what Obi has to say... Thank you for reading!❤💛💚💙💜

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	8. Buy Your Love

**Notes:**

Hey all you wonderful people! Thank you sooooo very much for all the support! I really love seeing how much you all react to the story and throw out your theories :) As you can probably tell, we're starting to get more soft Tony! We have a particularly dense chapter today and I know you're eager to see what happens with Obadiah, so please enjoy this roller coaster of a chapter filled with more Irondad, suspense, angst, and hurt/comfort!

Have fun and stay safe! ❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

Chapter Eight: Buy Your Love

With his newly gelled hair, Tony accepts all the delivery boxes at once, having Rhodey hold Peter as he does so. Rhodey carefully watches the boxes come in one by one, but Peter asks the question before he can.

"Why do you want so many boxes?" Peter questions Tony as he comes in with yet another box.

"They aren't for me, Pete. They're for you." Tony lowers the box to the ground and stretches his arms above his head. Aging is ridiculous, he isn't old enough for back pain.

"Me?" Peter tilts his head to the side. "I don't want boxes, Tomy." Rhodey chuckles. What a cute kid. Meanwhile, Tony uses a kitchen knife to cut the tape of the last box he carried in.

"You'll want what's inside," he promises as he pulls out a dark blue, fuzzy blanket. Peter's eyes immediately widen in awe and he instinctively reaches toward it with grabby hands. Tony smiles slightly and walks it over to the kid. As soon as the plush blanket is within reach, Peter lets his head drop to bury his face in its softness. Both the men laugh at the action as Peter rubs his face over the material. Tony wraps the blanket over Peter's shoulders and pats his back before turning back to the boxes. Peter lays his head down on Rhodey's shoulder and enjoys the warmth of his new blanket. "And I got more toys, books, bedsheets, cups, plastic plates, the whole shebang." Tony pulls out one of the parenting books he bought along with a chest carrier.

"Is that…a toddler carrier?" Rhodey asks accompanied by a laugh. With narrowed eyes, Tony nods.

"As a matter of fact, it is," he answers curtly. "I had the front modified so it doesn't affect his hips. I read that baby carriers can hurt their hips and there's no way in hell I'm hurting this kid." Without further explanation, he starts strapping the odd contraption to his chest.

"Wait, why are you putting it on right now?" Rhodey questions skeptically. If this is going where he thinks it's going…

"I told you, he's coming with us. Can't lose him if he's strapped to my chest." Tony's nonchalance only adds to Rhodey's frustration. Why couldn't he have a normal best friend? No, he gets the psycho, billionaire best friend who adopts kids for good publicity. Tony ignores Rhodey's stare and chooses to pick up a parenting book to bring with him.

"That's not a great idea, Tones. This is a meeting, not a daycare. You know how serious Obadiah-"

"If Obi wants to complain about something he talked me into, then he can go be a hypocrite somewhere else for all I care," Tony interrupts, his voice monotone. When he manages to get everything buckled into place, he gestures for Rhodey to bring him Peter.

"We're gonna see Obi?" Peter asks hopefully as he's passed to Tony. They easily fit the toddler into the carrier and use the blanket to make sure he's comfortable.

"We are but we gotta be quiet, okay?" Tony says in a hushed voice and puts his finger to his lips. Peter copies the action and shushes for effect.

"Bery quiet." Tony smiles in content, then turns his attention to the ceiling.

"Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S., do I have anything else scheduled for today?" He briefly considers canceling everything before he knows what's planned, but he doesn't want Pepper to kill him either.

"Yes, Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. responds without fail as he always does. "Today's list includes a meeting scheduled by Ms. Potts, a reminder to not forget that you're the best, and you have to video chat with the Secretary of State later this evening." Tony stares up in pure confusion, his brow furrowed and mouth slightly open.

"I'm sorry, what? Who set that middle reminder?" His question is answered when Peter giggles against his chest. Tony looks down to see Peter's brown eyes sparkling up at him.

"Jarbis made me do it," the boy defends with a wide smile.

"I did no such thing," J.A.R.V.I.S. calmly counters, only causing Peter to laugh more. Tony doesn't know how to feel. He supposes he shouldn't be surprised, but he has to admit he wasn't expecting it.

"You're the best, Tomy!" Peter exclaims. All Tony can do is look up at Rhodey, who seems to be just as shocked as he is, although smiling minutely at the two.

"Why'd you have J.A.R.V.I.S. remind me?" Tony's almost afraid to ask.

"You gotta know," Peter replies as if it's the most reasonable conclusion in the world. But Tony doesn't want to dwell on it. The longer he lets it sink in, the more emotions manifest. Instead, he straps Peter in and the three of them head towards the elevator. "Tomy?" Peter looks up as Tony looks down at him.

"Yeah?"

"How come you have hair all ober your face?" the toddler asks, reaching up to rub his small hand over Tony's prickly beard. Tony just stares at him with narrowed eyes, not quite knowing how to answer.

"Well, uh, grownups grow hair on their face called beards," Tony tries to patiently explain.

"Uncle Rhodey doesn't have hair," Peter observes. Tony has to physically hold back a cringe at Peter calling Rhodey "uncle." It shouldn't bother him, but it does. He doesn't want to understand why, so he once again ignores that tight feeling in his chest.

"That's 'cause he shaves his face." Rhodey waits inside the elevator for the two, but Tony stops just outside the doors.

"But you're only supposed to shabe your legs," Peter tells them as if he's an expert. As Peter rants, Rhodey raises his eyebrows expectantly and even steps to the side to give Tony more access to the elevator.

"One second, Pete," Tony says before tucking the parenting book under his arm and gently covering the boy's small ears. "The kid isn't a fan of elevators. Mind if we take the stairs?" He phrases it as a question, but he isn't really asking. No way is he scarring this kid again with that metal deathtrap.

"Seriously?" Rhodey asks, but steps out of the elevator nonetheless. Tony smiles triumphantly and nods.

"Thanks, Sugarplum." He removes his hands from Peter's ears. "I have a beard 'cause it makes me cool," he continues the previous conversation. Rhodey leads the way down the stairs while Peter's fingers prod at Tony's cheeks.

"When do, do I get one?" Peter wonders as his hands move up to touch Tony's gelled hair.

"When you're older." The words easily leave Tony's lips, but they almost knock the wind out of him. _Older. _If everything goes according to their plan, he won't _see _Peter when he's older. Won't _know_ Peter when he's older. Grown up. Peter reaches up as far as he can to mess up Tony's hair, unaware of the man's inner turmoil.

"Why's your hair pokey?" Peter continues to ask questions all the way down to their destination. Although Tony had just styled his hair, he doesn't stop Peter from playing with it, causing it to stick up in every possible direction.

By the time the reach the garage, Tony looks like he just got out of bed. Rhodey has to stifle his laughs when Tony shoots him a glare. Is Tony going to fix his hair? Nope. Is he going to get stares? Probably. Does he care? Not in the slightest. He'll just fire anyone who looks at him wrong.

Peter cooperates the whole drive in the backseat over to the facility. Thankfully, Obadiah is on one of the lower levels of the facility so they don't have to use the elevator. Rhodey opens the door to one of Obadiah's many offices and the two walk in to see Obadiah casually sitting at his desk. Obadiah looks up from his computer when they enter and stands with a welcoming smile.

"Colonel Rhodes! Good to see you again." He gives Rhodey a firm handshake.

"You too," Rhodey returns the greeting. Then, Obadiah's eyes inevitably land on Tony. The Tony Stark with a toddler strapped to his chest, bags under his eyes, and his hair ruffled every-which-way. Still, he holds himself with utmost confidence.

"Well, you look about as refreshed as I expected you to be," Obadiah notes with humor in his voice. "Wasn't expecting the Squirt to tag along either." This time, his smile is forced and tight. Tony catches it…but doesn't know how to interpret it.

"Hi, Obi!" Peter calls, even though he's facing Tony's chest. He kicks his legs out excitedly.

"Heya, Squirt!" Obadiah matches Peter's enthusiastic, carefree tone. "Well, feel free to have a seat." All three of the men sit down, Obadiah behind his desk while Rhodey and Tony sit in the guest chairs. "I just wanted to check in and see how things were going. Make sure we're all on the same page and the ball's still rolling." Tony can see where this is going from a mile away and opens to the first few pages of his parenting book.

**Chapter One: When To Say No**

**Teaching your child right and wrong is essential to their brain and personality development. However, this can cause a parent to tell their child "no" too much, resulting in a negative word association from said child.**

"With all due respect, I'd prefer to be informed of what exactly is going on," Rhodey all but demands. "One minute Tony's out getting wasted at parties, and now he has a kid? Is this really the best course of action?"

**There are more constructive and positive methods in which to educate your child. When you tell a child "no," they don't know **_**why**_ **they're being told no.**

"I have absolutely everything under control. Trust me, Peter is completely safe and it's a win-win situation. I can't help get this business back on its feet without a bit of a push," Obadiah calmly explains, Always remaining reserved.

**All they know is that you don't want them doing that thing. Instead, explain why they shouldn't do the improper action so that they can understand and grow.**

"So, adopting a child is the logical conclusion?" Rhodey challenges.

"Listen, Tony, Colonel, I'm doing what I can in the best interest of this company. Thirty points. That's how much stocks have gone up since the press conference." Tony perks up at that, lifting his eyes up from the book just enough to make eye contact with Obadiah.

"Thirty points, huh?" he repeats, mildly intrigued. Peter bounces and tries to reach for Tony's book, but Tony holds it just out of reach.

"Tomy, I wanna read too," Peter complains with his grabby hands still reaching.

"It's just like I said, everything will fall into place," Obadiah says smugly as he holds his arms out.

"But then what happens?" Rhodey counters, leaning back with his arms crossed. "Sure, in a perfect world stocks go up and the business is back on its feet. Then what happens to Peter?" The room goes silent besides Peter's fumblings to grab the book. Tony locks eyes with Obadiah, very invested in what his friend will say. His gaze is so intense that it's almost challenging Obadiah to say the wrong thing. Obadiah, however, laughs awkwardly and clasps his hands together.

"That's up to Tony, of course. Whatever he feels most comfortable with." He smiles, looking between the two before his eyes settle on Rhodey. "I trust you'll keep this under wraps for Tony and me, for the sake of the company," he urges. Rhodey doesn't want to agree with Obadiah, but he doesn't want anything getting out and ruining Tony's reputation. Even if this is the dumbest thing he's ever heard. Still, he's seeing a change in Tony because of Peter. He wouldn't want to ruin that. Besides, the kid is safe and happy, if the grin on Peter's face is anything to go by.

"Of course, as long as Peter stays safe. Anything happens to him, I won't be covering anything up to save your asses," he warns, his tone serious. Obadiah presses his lips together and takes a deep breath.

"Look, you two let me do the worrying, alright? That's my job. Let me handle the hard stuff. No if, ands, or buts. You," Obadiah points at Tony with a pen, "need to go out more. With the kid. Go out into the world, preferably where there's coverage." At this point, Tony is more focused on keeping Peter preoccupied.

"I'm hungry. Can we go get food? Please?" Peter whines as he continues to reach for the fanned out pages.

"Yes, we can get some food after this. But no book, you have your own books back at the house," Tony tries to compromise.

"But I want it." Peter pouts, his bottom lip sticking out. _Shit, _Tony catches himself, _I already told him "no" when the book told me not to._

"Tony, focus," Obadiah tries to get his attention, but Tony ignores him.

"You can't because you could give yourself a papercut-"

"Tony-"

"Or hit me in the face-"

"We need to figure this out-"

"'Cause let's be honest, this is the moneymaker." Tony gestures to his face with his free hand, but Peter continues to pout. "Hey, only smiles. Don't make me tickle you." Obadiah sighs and rubs his forehead. Of course, Tony remains oblivious to start tickling Peter's sides, causing the toddler to devolve into happy giggles.

"Tony. _Tony,"_ Obadiah calls, finally getting Tony's attention. With a huff of exasperation, Tony stops tickling Peter and listens. "This is serious and we need to get a plan under our belts. Go to a park or the Santa Monica Pier or whatever. Just pick a place." Rhodey sees the trainwreck of a conversation coming from a mile away, but doesn't do anything to stop it. Why? Because this is the most entertaining thing he's witnessed all damn day.

"Have you asked Peter where he wants to go?" Tony calmly challenges, his hand subconsciously smoothing Peter's hair. Rhodey doesn't fail to notice the tendency. "How about we let him pick, hm? Pete wants to go to…" he prompts as he bounces Peter to get his attention.

"Didneyland!" Peter exclaims, throwing his arms up.

"Didneyland," Tony repeats matter-of-factly with the same pronunciation. Obadiah stares at him as if he's gone off the deep end. "Don't look at me like that, Obi, it'd be great publicity if we went. Tony Stark takes mini vacay with his-" _son._ He finishes it in his head, but can't say it out loud. "Y'know. Just cancel my meetings for the week."

"Isn't he too young to even remember it? Huh? C'mon, Tony," Obadiah tries to counter, standing up. Instinctively, Tony stands as well. No way in hell is anyone standing over him.

"He'll love it. We'll take the jet as soon as I get Pep. You can hold down the fort while we're gone, can't you?" Before Obadiah can answer, Tony answers for him. "Of course you can. Fantastic." Tony pats his shoulder encouragingly and starts walking to the door. "Oh, and no paparazzi," he adds nonchalantly.

"Excuse me? You're going to 'The Happiest Place on Earth' and you don't want press coverage?" Obadiah questions in disbelief.

"Yep," Tony pops the "p" without regret. "Do you wanna deal with a fussy Pete? No, I didn't think so. And Pete wants to go to Disney, so that's where we're going. I'll send you a postcard, Obi." He waves without looking back and walks out, Rhodey close behind.

"Tones, what was that about?" Rhodey questions, quickly falling into pace with his friend.

"Don't you think it'd be a bit suspicious for cameras to be following me around twenty-four seven and us not doing anything about it?" Tony easily proposes.

"No, not really. I'm pretty sure everyone's aware you're _that_ self-centered." Rhodey grins as Tony gasps dramatically.

"I can't help the fact that I'm the greatest. Right, Pete?" He looks down to Peter for confirmation instead.

"Mhm! You're the bestest eber!" Peter agrees with a heartwarming smile. At the agreement, Tony looks back to Rhodey with a slight smirk and raised eyebrows.

"You do realize you're gonna have to tell Pepper," Rhodey reminds as they walk down the stairs.

"Tomy, I'm hungry," Peter interrupts the conversation, throwing his head back and drawing out the last word.

"I know, bud. We're meeting Pep at home to pack," Tony assures with a pat to the kid's back. Once they get settled in the car, Tony sitting in the back with Peter and Rhodey in the passenger seat, Happy drives them back to the mansion. As Peter plays with Stebe on his lap, Tony takes his brief moment of silence to text Pepper.

**Pep Potts**

Tony: _Can you take a break to come home_

Pepper: _Why?_

Pepper: _Is Peter okay?_

Tony: _Yeah he's fine and dandy. Obi's sending us on an all expense paid vacation_

Pepper: _You're joking right?_

Tony: _No?_

Tony: _Why? You got better things to do?_

Pepper: _Yes! Running your company while you tae care of Peter!_

Tony: _Then you definitely deserve a break. Let Obi handle things_

Tony: _Besides, Pete's the one that wants to go to Disneyland_

Pepper: _Disneyland?!_

Tony: _Disneyland!_

Tony: _You wouldn't say no to Pete would you_

Pepper: _Fine. But if this company collapses while I'm gone it's on you_

Tony was expecting a lot of things when he got to the house; an anxious Pepper, an angry Pepper, a hysterical Pepper. He comes face-to-face with all three.

"Thanks for the heads up before our little getaway," Pepper greets sarcastically. She's already getting suitcases together to be filled with clothes and necessities. "How long is this excursion supposed to be?" When she looks up at Tony, her eyes wander down to Peter strapped to his chest and soften minutely.

"Hi, sweetheart. How was work?" Tony replies instead, a slight smile on his lips. Pepper narrows her eyes at him skeptically, but smiles anyways.

"Stressful," she answers honestly as she crosses her arms and walks closer.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Tony leans in and maintains his smile as he kisses her, only to be interrupted a few short seconds later by tiny hands on their chins.

"I want kisses too!" Peter exclaims accompanied by his grabby hands. Pepper laughs and they break the kiss, resting their foreheads against one another's. She takes initiative and lifts Peter out of the carrier. Tony silently misses the warmth, but his aching shoulders disagree.

"You get all the kisses," Pepper says with a grin as she softly bombards his face with kiss after kiss. Peter giggles loudly and tries to squirm out of her grasp, but his efforts are futile against Pepper's love. Seeing them so happy makes Tony's heart ache. How is he supposed to tear them apart? It would crush them. It would crush him.

"Tomy needs kisses!" Peter points back to Tony and Pepper stalls to look at him.

"Tony doesn't need kisses. Thanks, kid," Tony denies with a raised hand. He unstraps the toddler carrier to take it off, then clasps his hands together. "Let's get packed and get to the jet asap." Pepper nods with a sense of purpose, resting Peter on her hip.

"Alright, I'll get us packed for what? A few days stay? And you call to get some tickets so-"

"You're better over the phone. I'm not a people person. I'll take the Munchkin to pack while you deal with snotty phone people," Tony negotiates, already reaching for Peter.

"Excuse me? Not a people person? I wasn't born yesterday, Tony. You're the most social person I know, what are you trying to pull?" Pepper eyes him suspiciously as Peter taps her shoulder.

"I'm hungry," Peter says again.

"See, he's hungry," Tony repeats, gesturing to the toddler. "I'll make food, pack, and you do the easy stuff." That's when Pepper smiles knowingly. Tony would _never_ make something of his own volition.

"You just want to spend time with Peter," Pepper states more than she asks. Tony, of course, rolls his eyes. Surprisingly, he doesn't protest.

"Just handle the tickets and I'll handle the kid, capisce?" Pepper sighs, searching his eyes for any ulterior motive.

"Are you sure about this?" Pepper checks warily. She just doesn't like the idea of leaving all her work at the drop of a hat.

"Of course, it'll be a fun, family bonding experience. If Obi needs us, he knows our number," Tony reasons.

"But what about-"

"Don't worry, Pep. I have everything sorted out." He doesn't.

"What if-"

"You're doing that worrying thing." Tony gently takes Peter from her and pecks her on the cheek. "Relax a bit, will ya?"

"No one listens to me when I talk," Pepper scoffs as she shakes her head.

"I listen, Peppa!" Peter disagrees with a wide smile. It's impossible for his smiles and laughs to not be contagious.

"You do, lovebug. And you're very good at it," Pepper praises. She puts her hand on his cheek and they rub their noses together. _Eskimo kisses,_ Tony notes in his head, _wonder when she taught him that._

"Well, my turn." He lifts Peter up and puts him on his shoulders. Pepper's smile only widens.

"Someone's getting possessive."

"_Cautious,"_ Tony counters with raised eyebrows to further make his point. Peter leans forward and tips his head upside down so that he can see Tony's face.

"I want goldfish and, and a peanut butter nana sammich," the toddler states rather bluntly.

"Ah ah ah, what do we say?" Tony gives him a look, which only causes Peter to smile before yelling,

"Please!"

"Good. Now that I'm deaf, off to the kitchen." Tony props Peter to sit straight up on his shoulders and marches overdramatically to the kitchen. Every time his foot hits the ground, he makes an over exaggerated crashing noise, resulting in wholehearted belly laughs from Peter.

After a crustless peanut butter and banana sandwich is made and eaten, Tony and Peter get to work packing their suitcases. Well, mostly Tony. He's the one who packs them, but he has Peter sit on top of them to squish them down. Peter doesn't really weigh enough to do much, but it gives the kid a sense of helping. Teaching teamwork is important after all! At least, that's what Tony's books tell him.

They're packed in a reasonable amount of time and they wait on the couch while Pepper finishes up on the phone. She patiently stands, on hold, and silently thanks Tony when he brings her suitcases out as well.

After a while, Tony starts to get bored. In reality, it's only five or so minutes but he has a worse attention span than Peter. The toddler sits quietly beside Tony, half awake fiddling with Stebe's clothes. He didn't get a long enough nap time, so Tony hopes he'll sleep on the jet. When Pepper glances to them, Tony crosses his arms and gives the best pout he can muster. Pepper playfully rolls her eyes at the childish action.

Peter notices Tony's body position and tries to match it. He attempts to cross his arms a few times before getting it right, then looks up to study Tony's facial features. Peter draws his eyebrows together and sticks out his lips to match Tony's pout. As Pepper glances to the pair on the couch, she has to hold back her laughter at how much Peter looks like a mini version of Tony. The two of them, side-by-side, their arms crossed, pouting. What a treasure.

It's not twenty minutes later that all three of them are being driven to the landing strip by Happy. When they arrive, they start getting everything in order and Tony has Peter stand with his suitcase. This inevitably leads to Peter zooming around on his four-wheeled suitcase, but at least it keeps him occupied.

"Tomy, what're we doing?" Tony looks up from the trunk to see Peter lying on his belly on the suitcase.

"We're going to Disneyland, remember?" Tony patiently reminds as he pulls out Pepper's bags.

"But how?" Peter asks absentmindedly. He doesn't seem too invested in the answer, just asking questions for the sake of it. Still, Tony answers.

"Well, we're taking the jet." Pepper takes her bags from Tony with a thank you.

"What's a jet?" Ah, the typical toddler twenty questions game.

"Kinda like a really fast plane that only we get to use," Tony describes as best he can, a hint of pride in his voice. That's more or less when everything goes downhill. Peter's whole body goes rigid. Tony instantly notices and raises an eyebrow. "Pete?" The kid starts to furiously shake his head.

"No!" Peter suddenly yells before clamping his hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut. Tony is quick to rush to his side, his heart starting to hammer with panic.

"What's wrong, bud? Can you look at me? Huh?" He places his hands Peter's shoulders, put Peter tries to wiggle out of his grip.

"No! Don't!" Peter protests with another scream. The jet slowly approaches its marks on the runway to pick up the three, but Peter is panicking.

"Hey, Peter," Tony tries to get Peter's attention by putting his hands on the boy's face. Pepper comes to help, but Tony doesn't want Peter getting even more overstimulated so he holds up a hand.

"No! You don't get it!" Tears finally start to flow down Peter's cheeks and he fights harder.

"Pete, you gotta talk to me. You understand?" Tony persists, only earning more head shaking from Peter.

"I don't wanna! Let go!" Peter tries to push away, so Tony uses a more stern, commanding voice.

"Peter!" This halts Peter's struggling, only to leave him sobbing. Exhausted, he falls into Tony's chest for a hug. "Tell me what's wrong," Tony repeats, his tone softer now that Peter has stopped yelling.

"Don't like planes," Peter cries as Tony rubs his back. Okay, he can work with that information.

"It's a very safe plane. One made especially for us so it's _extra_ safe, alright? I promise nothing'll happen." Peter shakes his head into Tony's chest.

"We'll fall." Tony takes a deep, steadying breath.

"I'll keep you safe, okay?" he promises, hoping it'll help to calm the boy. Peter holds on tighter to his shirt, but doesn't respond. Tony glances up to Pepper, not failing to notice the concern on her face. He nods, silently telling her it's okay, and lifts a tremor-ridden Peter as he stands. Pepper kisses the top of Peter's head before walking up the small steps of the jet, Tony carefully following her. Happy, handles the bags as Pepper and Tony get situated inside.

"Where do you want to sit?" Tony asks Peter in a hushed voice. "You get to choose anywhere on the jet." He pats the toddler's back, who slowly peaks out. Peter searches around with one damp eye, then points to the seats in the far corner.

"Sit there," he mumbles before burying his small face again. Tony can feel Peter's deathgrip on his jacket, but simply complies by walking them over to the corner.

"Thanks, Happy," he hears Pepper thank near the exit.

"Not a problem. Fly safe." With that, Happy exits the jet and the hatch closes. Tony takes a deep breath before lowering himself and Peter into the seats. Pepper is quick to join them, sitting in one of the seats across from them.

"I want you to lay with me," Peter borderline begs, only adding to the ache in Tony's chest.

"I'm not goin' anywhere. Wanna see something cool?" Tony coaxes as he pulls out his phone. Peter, however, keeps his face hidden. His breaths come fast and shallow, just like the episode in the elevator. Tony notices this and rubs comforting circles on the boy's back. He has to distract him before they take off. Without hesitation, Tony closes the nearby window shade, Pepper following suit, and unlocks his phone. "Look, you can choose _any_ movie you want, kiddo. Absolutely anything!" He does his best to add as much enthusiasm and flexion into his voice to pique Peter's interest. Peter rubs his eyes with his fists and sniffles.

"Anything?" he repeats. Tony smiles encouragingly.

"Anything." Peter is quick to answer, obviously not needing much thought.

"Nemo." Tony admits that he should have seen that coming, but cues up the movie nonetheless. One of the many perks of being a billionaire: your choice of any movie at the tap of a finger. Pepper instantly catches onto Tony's plan and pulls out a pair of soundproof headphones.

"How about you try to nap," Tony offers as he accepts the headphones.

"I'm not tired," Peter protests, snuggling closer into Tony's side. Tony almost freezes. The reality of the situation hits him full force. This kid is relying on him, _counting_ on him, to get him through this flight. The pressure starts to make it hard to breathe, until he feels a comforting hand on his knee. His conflicted eyes snap up to meet Pepper's.

"You're doing great," she praises with a smile. Tony breathes in deep and nods, adjusting the headphones before placing them over Peter's ears. That should take care of takeoff and landing. Peter is immediately captivated by the animated movie that Tony holds in his hand. In his other hand, Tony reads another one of the parenting books he purchased online.

"Are you…reading what I think you're reading?" Pepper inquires with a knowing smirk. Tony rolls his eyes, but doesn't necessarily object.

"Thought it'd be a good investment considering the circumstances," he answers nonchalantly as he moves his right arm to hold Peter more securely.

"Mhm," Pepper hums in satisfaction. "You should get 'The Tantrum Survival Guide,' you'll need-"

"I already have that one," Tony interrupts and sniffs casually. "In hindsight, I probably should've read it before getting on the jet. But I already started this one, so to hell with it." Surprisingly enough, Pepper looks impressed with his choices.

"Wow, never thought I'd see the day where Tony Stark is responsible. I guess it's time to mark the calendars," she teases, glancing down to Peter. Peter is practically hypnotized by the movie, so it shouldn't be too long before he's out like a light.

"Ha ha. Y'know, I fell for your gorgeous looks but I stay for your sass." Tony smiles that lopsided, charming smile. Pepper shakes her head, but doesn't relent either.

"Someone has to keep you in your place," she agrees with a quirked eyebrow.

"And who better than the fantastic Pepper Potts?" Tony compliments, earning a chuckle from Pepper. With their usual banter, they get comfortable for the short, half hour flight and mentally prepare for the next few stressful days of Disneyland. Before returning to his book, Tony looks down at Peter. The boy is completely oblivious to the world around him besides the video in front of him and the warmth around him. It's the first moment where Tony realizes that he would do anything, even give his own life, to keep Peter safe.

* * *

**Notes:**

WE'RE. GOING. TO. DIDNEYLAAAAAAND! I apologize for upsetting Pete but you gotta admit, Tony standing up to Obadiah AND comforting Pete was a nice change of pace :)

Thank you for reading!❤ 💛💚💙💜

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	9. Didneyland

Welcome back to the adventures of Tomy and Spidey Tot! This chapter has a wide range of feels and fluff and love and UGH feel free to scream and cry at me in the comments because I want to scream and cry at MYSELF. We get a big turning point today that will hopefully make you very eager for the next chapter :) Plus some absolute Irondad moments that are sure to fill your heart!

QUICK NOTE: SuperHeroTiger has once again made absolutely precious fanart, this time of the moment from last chapter where Tony has Pete in the carrier and the munchkin is messing with Tony's beard! Check out their incredible art skills and send them all the love:  
Tumblr: SuperHeroTiger  
Also posted on my IG kevy_fanfics

Have fun and stay safe!❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

Didneyland

As soon as they're off the plane, Peter immediately brightens up again. It's almost like night and day. He becomes his chatty, enthusiastic self during the ride to the hotel and talks Pepper and Tony's ears off until they arrive. Of course, Tony went a bit over the top with the hotel. Who could blame him? He has more money than he knows what to do with, so why wouldn't he choose to make his kid's day? The look on Peter's face as they walk into their hotel room is utterly priceless.

Peter's eyes widen as far as they can go and he lets go of Tony's index finger to run into the room. The first thing he does drop to the floor to look closer at the carpet. It's a mix of shades of blue and orange in the pattern of water. He quickly jumps to his feet only to run to the bright orange couch against one of the walls. Above the couch is a metal cut out of a fish that hangs on the wall. Across from the couch is a wide, flat screen TV beside a mural of coral and fish. It's a Finding Nemo themed suite.

"Be careful, please," Tony reminds in a firm, but not unkind, voice.

"It's Nemo!" Peter exclaims as he excitedly points to the metal fish. God, what Tony would pay to see that smile stay on Peter's face.

"That's right, good eye," Tony praises. He read that praise is one of the most important things to give a child. Positive reinforcement teaches kids what good behavior is. He helps Pepper carry their bags into the bedroom.

"Everything's Nemo!" Peter shouts again with such enthusiasm that both adults can't help their own smiles.

"Everything," Tony agrees. "C'mon, kiddo. Help bring in your suitcase, please." He has to involve Peter in what they're doing, which means helping out.

"M'kay!" Peter easily complies, hopping off the couch. Once they're all settled, Pepper pulls out one of the apples they brought for Peter's snack and begins cutting it into slices.

"Y'know, there's room service for that kind of thing," Tony points out as he starts to prepare a cup of coffee. Meanwhile, Peter bolts around the room having the time of his life trying to explore every square inch of the rooms. Pepper gives Tony a side glance accompanied by a slight smile.

"Says the one who goes on vacation just to drink more coffee" she calmly retorts. Tony nods with his eyebrows raised.

"Fair point," he concedes. Just then, Pepper catches a glimpse of Peter bolting into the master bedroom.

"What are you doing, Peter?" Pepper calls with a knowing grin. A few seconds later, Peter calls back,

"Nothing!" A telltale sign of a toddler getting into trouble. Pepper nods towards the back room.

"Go make sure the troublemaker doesn't hurt himself," she tells Tony as she cuts another apple slice.

"How could I say no to a beautiful woman wielding a six inch knife?" Tony quips with a playful smirk. Without argument, he leaves the coffeemaker and saunters into bedroom. Peter is happily jumping on the king sized bed with zero regret, his hair bouncing with the movement. Tony shoves his hands into his pockets and leans against the doorway.

"What'd I say about being careful?" he reiterates with a content expression. Peter continues to jump, absolutely beaming.

"I am careful," the boy reassures with a loud laugh that makes Tony's stomach do flips. "You can't get me! You can't get me!" Peter taunts. What kind of person would Tony be if he let a four-year-old push him around? He knows Peter is just baiting him to play, but he lets himself loosen up. He slowly starts creeping towards the bed, eliciting giggles from Peter as he watches. The closer Tony gets, the more Peter giggles until Tony snatches him midair causing loud, boisterous laughs from the boy.

"Oh no!" Tony feigns shock as he tenderly lowers Peter onto the bed, but makes crashing noises to make it seem like he's hitting the bed hard. Peter continues to laugh and tries to get back up, but Tony holds him in place with tickles.

"Stop!" Peter gasps out between fits of overwhelming giggles. When the boy's face is tinted pink, Tony decides to stop to give Peter a breather. He watches as Peter's tummy rises and falls to catch his breath. "Again!" Peter suddenly shouts with a wide smile, showing off his pearly whites. "Up!" He holds his arms out and bounces slightly. At the request, Tony decides to take a gamble. He lifts Peters into the air.

"Zoom zoom zoom, we're going to the moon." He lowers Peter back down, the toddler's smile growing. Tony lifts him up again. "Zoom zoom zoom, we'll be there very soon." At the end of the verse, Peter is plopped back down on the bed. "Five, four, three, two, one, blast off!" This time, Tony lifts Peter and flies him around the room like a rocket ship. Tony swears he has never heard a kid laugh more in his life, and it warms his heart to think that he caused it. After flying Peter around the room, he lands them both onto the bed again.

"Again! Again!" Peter immediately says while clapping his hands. Tony complies and repeats the little rhyme. Who would've thought that watching a few kids videos on YouTube would come in handy? "I wanna touch the ceiling!" Peter squeals happily as Tony tosses him up in the air. With a smile and a shake of his head, Tony holds Peter up so he can knock on the ceiling.

"What are you trying to do?" Tony asks curiously as he watches the boy knock.

"Jarbis! Where are you?" Peter calls, trying to project his voice through the ceiling. Tony can't help his laughter and pulls the kid back down into his arms.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. isn't here, bud. He's back at the house," Tony tries to explain, swinging Peter upside down.

"But he said he can go anywhere," Peter counters. His curls hang and he allows himself to be swung. Tony swings him up and makes sure he lands on the bed with a bounce, causing more giggles. The toddler is quick to slide off the edge of the bed and wraps both his arms and legs around Tony's left leg. "I got you!"

"Oh, do you now?" Tony challenges with a mischievous grin. Without warning, Tony starts walking, dragging Peter along like deadweight. Peter laughs as he sits on Tony's foot and holds onto his leg as tight as he can. As Tony trudges ahead, he rawrs as if he's a monster and makes over exaggerated movements. He holds his arms out in front of him and makes a booming sound each time he takes a step. Eventually, despite Peter's hysterical laughter and Tony's slow advances, the pair make it back to the main area where Pepper has been silently listening. In her defense, anyone within a mile radius probably heard them.

"Having fun?" Pepper inquires, a knowing look on her face. Actually, Tony _ is _having fun. Still, he shrugs his shoulders. "I have some apple slices for you, Peter." At Pepper's words, Peter gasps and quickly scrambles to his feet.

"Thank you!" Peter says politely as he climbs onto one of the coral-themed chairs. Tony holds out his hands to make sure Peter doesn't fall, but allows the boy to get up himself. The toddler bounces in anticipation until Pepper brings the apple slices to the table and then he immediately starts munching on them.

"So, how's dad life treating you?" Pepper speaks up as she leans against the counter in the kitchen with her arms crossed. Tony mirrors her posture and slowly nods while watching Peter.

"Fine," he answers simply. When he glances to Pepper, her eyebrows are raised expectantly and she has a look that practically demands him to elaborate. With a huff, Tony continues. "I'm just...a puddle of paternal goo," he deflates slightly at the admission.

"That's nothing to be ashamed of." Pepper smiles softly and nudges him in encouragement. "And you didn't disagree to being called a dad. I call that progress." Tony's eyes widen in realization. He didn't disagree. He was referred to as a dad and it didn't even phase him.

"What, what if I screw him up?" Tony finally voices one of his many fears. Pepper isn't surprised by the question, but she still hates seeing him…scared.

"All parents worry about that kind of thing. You just have to trust that your best will be enough," she assures, her wisdom evident in the moment. "Sometimes kids just need some TLC." Tony looks at her with drawn in eyebrows and confusion.

"...Total Lung Capacity?" he hesitantly asks for clarification. There's a brief silence in which Pepper just stares at him.

"No." Tony stares back.

"Thin Layer Chromatography?"

"No, Tony."

"Toyota Land Cruiser?" Now Pepper knows that Tony is just trying to get under her skin.

"Really? Yes, I want you to buy him a Toyota," Pepper responds sarcastically and shakes her head with a slight smile. "Tender Loving Care," she divulges. Surprisingly, Tony barks out a laugh. When Pepper maintains her stoic expression, his smile drops.

"Oh, you're serious," he observes and clears his throat. Pepper silently nods. "Well, I suppose I can try…that." Tony nods, glancing back to Peter who is swinging his legs back and forth as he eats. "I just don't want to be like Howard," he admits. There's another one of the top five fears. Pepper eyes him carefully.

"You aren't like him. You know what not to do. You're better than him," she says with such confidence and vigor that Tony even lets himself relax a little. Hearing it from her makes the anxiety more bearable.

"Tomy! Tomy!" Peter's sudden shouting grabs the attention both the adults and Tony is at his side in mere seconds.

"What? What's wrong?" Tony asks frantically, already scanning the kid for possible injuries. But Peter is all smiles. Actually, when Tony looks at Peter's face, he notices something different about that smile…

"I lost a toof!" Tony just about passes out. He doesn't know if it's due to the relief that Peter is okay or the realization that the kid has one less tooth.

"Awesome job!" Pepper praises. "Do you know what you do with it?" She steps closer and crouches in front of the beaming boy.

"Uh uh," Peter shakes his head, "this is the first time I've lost a toof." His wide smile shows off the small gap in his bottom row of teeth. Tony watches intently as the scene between the two unfolds.

"Tonight, before you go to sleep, you put your tooth under your pillow," Pepper whispers as if it's the most treasured secret in the whole world.

"That's silly," Peter whispers back, maintaining his grin.

"It is, but after you fall asleep a tiny fairy sneaks under your pillow and leaves behind a surprise." As soon as Pepper finishes in her hushed voice, Peter's eyes are practically sparkling with excitement.

"A surprise? For me?" Peter asks in awe, just to make sure. Accompanied by a sweet smile, Pepper nods.

"That's right, but you have to be asleep for the Tooth Fairy to come. Go ahead and put that under your pillow." Peter nods vigorously and rushes out of the kitchen into the bedroom again.

"Tender Loving Care, huh?" Tony looks to Pepper with an impressed smile. She shrugs her shoulders to come off nonchalant, but she knows she did good. Hopefully, she changed his outlook on parenting even if it's slight.

"The most effective way to spoil a kid is with love." _ Love. _Such a simple word, but such a complicated concept for Tony. He still wants to avoid that topic at all costs.

"So, what do I do now, oh great TLC expert?" he asks with just a hint of sass. "I can write him a check for a few hundred and slip that under his pillow. I doubt he'd know what it is but we can always put it in a saving account and-"

"No," Pepper interrupts.

"No?"

"Nope. You don't write a kid a _ check _ for losing a tooth," Pepper repeats to point out how absurd the idea is.

"Alright," Tony nods and crosses his arms, "what do you suggest?" Pepper chuckles and can't believe that Tony is actually at a loss for once. However, it isn't so amusing when she realizes he doesn't know the concept of a Tooth Fairy because of his parents.

"A dollar," she answers simply. The idea of a single dollar seems to blow Tony's mind as he stares at Pepper in silent shock. "That's all he needs. Trust me, it'll make his day." Tony takes a deep breath, but holds his arms up in surrender nonetheless.

"Fine, but…I don't exactly have a dollar bill on me," he truthfully admits. Figures. Luckily, Pepper pulls out a dollar between her index and middle finger. "What would I do without you?" He shoots her a thankful smile.

"We've gone over that scenario, you wouldn't be able to function without me." Tony just hums in agreement, folds the dollar into his pocket, and pecks her on the cheek. Just then, Peter comes running back into the kitchen area.

"I did it!" he exclaims, throwing both his arms up. Pepper gasps dramatically and puts on a grin.

"Great job!" she positively affirms as she picks Peter up. The toddler doesn't hesitate to tightly wrap his arms around her neck for a heartfelt hug.

"Thanks, Peppa! I lub you!" Everything goes quiet. The words almost bring tears to Pepper's eyes, but she's able to hold them back. Instead, she puts her hand on the back of his head.

"I love you too, sweetheart," she reciprocates. She'd be lying if she tried to deny it. Of course she loves him, how could she not fall for the bundle of joy? Peter pulls back to look at her, a giddy smile on his face.

"I lub Tomy, too," he adds. All the color practically drains from Tony's face. _ No no no no. _ He clears his throat to compose himself, but Pepper can see the panicked sweat already start to sheen on his forehead.

"Uh, well, um…thanks." He has never been speechless before, but those three words seem to do it. He expects Pepper to be angry at him for not saying it back, but she looks at him with saddened pity. Pity is worse than any amount of rage.

"It's okay," Pepper softly assures, but Tony avoids her gaze. He doesn't want to do this right now.

"Tomy doesn't say it, but I know he lubs me." Peter sounds surprisingly wise. It's not so surprising when you consider how intelligent the kid is. Tony eyes start to well with tears that he can't force back. He clenches his teeth.

"How do you know?" Pepper prompts. She keeps her eyes locked on Tony, not giving up. At her question, Peter bounces slightly and looks at Tony, but Tony can't bear to look at those brown eyes.

"'Cause he picked me!" Peter answers as if it's the only true constant in the universe. That's when the tears roll down Tony's cheeks, completely against his will. The guilt practically eats him whole, because he didn't. He _ didn't _pick Peter. Peter was picked for him, by Obadiah. He presses his lips together and curls his toes under. If he doesn't, he'll have an emotional breakdown. Pepper holds Peter as she watches Tony slowly lose control over his emotions. Peter, however, reaches towards him with a frown. "Tomy, why are you sad?" the boy asks desperately. Pepper passes Peter over before Tony can even protest. Tony weakly holds the most perfect boy in the world in his unworthy arms. Peter wipes his tears with his small palms.

"I'm…so sorry, Pete," Tony somehow chokes out. He just…he can't do it. He can't say those words. It makes everything too real and then Peter suddenly becomes someone he can _ lose. _

"You don't gotta say it if you don't wanna," Peter responds with such understanding that it only makes Tony's heart ache more and his tears fall faster. That's the thing; Tony _ does _want to say it back. But he does the only other thing he can think of, which is pulling Peter close his chest and holding onto the kid for dear life. It's only been a few days and he already doesn't know what he would do without Peter in his life.

For the rest of the evening, Tony makes sure Peter is within arms length.

When Peter wakes up, bright and early at 6am, the first thing he does is check under his pillow. As soon as he feels the paper underneath his fingers, he quickly pulls it out to see the one dollar bill. He's so overwhelmed by excitement that he starts jumping on the bed. This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that he slept in between Tony and Pepper all night.

"Peppa! Tomy! Wake up!" Peter yells as he continues to jump. Pepper immediately sits up, her senses on high alert, only to realize that Peter is squealing with joy and not pain. Tony just decides to fold the pillow over his exposed ear to hopefully diminish the yelling. It doesn't work, especially when Peter climbs on top of him. "Look, Tomy! A whole dollar! From the Toof Fairy!" Peter says as he shoves the dollar in Tony's face.

Tony peaks up, knowing he's fighting a losing battle, and ultimately decides to sit up. With a tired groan, he holds onto Peter to make sure he doesn't fall off the bed and takes in the sight of the kid. How can Peter already be wide awake? Fortunately, their alarm is set for 6:15am, so an early start isn't too terrible.

"Yeah, look at that. Nice work, Munchkin," Tony praises as he stifles a yawn. Pepper stares at the two with a sleepy smile, her bedhead very evident.

"Alright team," she starts, trying to set a positive example, "who's ready for Disneyland?"

After many cups of coffee, breakfast, sunscreen application, and the assembly of a stroller, the three set off for an adventure in The Happiest Place on Earth. Even though they have dual passes, they start in the Disneyland park instead of California Adventure. They go on all kinds of attractions from the Jungle Cruise to the Alice in Wonderland ride. Of course, like the good surrogate father he is, Tony goes on every single one of them with Peter. This includes the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride, which Pepper insists they go on. With his knees close to his chest, Tony rides on Dumbo with Peter like a champ. It takes much more persuasion by both Pepper and Peter to convince Tony to go on It's a Small World. The song will haunt his nightmares.

One of Peter's favorite rides is Peter Pan's Flight, for obvious reasons, and Pepper and Tony can barely keep the kid in his seat. But his favorite by far is the Monster's Inc. ride in California Adventure. He shouts the names of almost every character, thoroughly impressing Tony with his memory. With how many names Peter has memorized, Tony wonders how many times he's watched the movie. They try to get Peter to go on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, but Peter ultimately refuses to get into the tight space. Not wanting to upset the kid on his fun trip, they don't force him.

They end the day in California Adventure, where all three wait in line. Peter is sitting in the stroller while they wait, tired from a long day of walking and dreams coming true. Tony is currently the one maneuvering the stroller in the line, since he and Pepper have been switching off, but he doesn't really mind all that much.

"We're almost to the front of the line. You ready, kiddo?" Tony checks in, bending forward to look into the stroller. As Tony does this, Pepper readies her phone to take pictures.

"Mhm!" Peter sways his head back and forth as he hums to himself. It's an absolutely adorable and endearing action that makes Pepper laugh. As they wait, Tony notices Peter staring at an elderly woman in front of them sitting in a mobility scooter.

"Pep," Tony whispers, "am I supposed to tell Pete that staring is rude or something?" He has no idea how to discipline a kid, so he takes a shot in the dark. Pepper glances to Peter and can see the wheels turning in his head.

"Just tell him it's okay to ask questions. That's how he'll learn," she informs. Tony nods thoughtfully at her advice before crouching down.

"Hey, do you wanna ask her something?" he prompts Peter, who immediately nods his head. Tony maneuvers the stroller to sit beside the woman. "Excuse me, ma'am, sorry to bother you. My kid wants to know if it's okay to ask you something," he quickly catches his slip, but it's too late to do anything about it. The elderly woman looks to them and immediately smiles.

"Well, hello there! Of course you can ask me a question," she obliges, her voice slightly shaking. Peter stares at the mobility scooter for a few moments longer, then looks up at the woman with a straight face. He points to the mobility scooter.

"How fast does that go?" he asks curiously. Tony has to put his hand over his mouth to hide his smile while the woman openly laughs.

"I must tell you, that's the first time I've ever been asked that! It can go pretty fast when I want it to, but that's our little secret." Peter immediately nods his head.

"I won't tell!" the toddler assures. Tony shakes his head in disbelief at how Peter somehow makes everyone like him.

"You have a lovely son," the woman compliments. Tony, abruptly pulled from his thoughts, swallows thickly.

"Thank you, ma'am."

When they finally reach the front of the line, Tony holds Peter's hand as he climbs out of the stroller. As soon as Peter looks up, he comes face-to-face with a fuzzy, blue-and-purple-spotted monster.

"Sulley!" Peter exclaims, surging forward to give the monster a big hug. His arms don't even come remotely close to reaching around the width of the costume. He almost disappears in the sheer amount of fluffed out hair. Sulley, of course, hugs back and pats his tiny body all the while Pepper is taking pictures of the heartwarming moment. Tony just stares, completely blown away that a person dressed up in some costume could so easily make a kid's day. Maybe it is all about the little things.

Wow, another life lesson. Making a difference one step at a time and enjoying the little victories. He can't believe he has learned such important concepts from a four-year-old. And what had Tony been doing before getting Peter? Blowing his money on things that don't matter. Wasting his life at parties. Drinking himself into oblivion. Making weapons that kill people.

Is that the legacy he wants to leave behind?

Is that the _ world _ he wants to leave Peter in?

Peter doesn't deserve that. The world might be a cruel place, but there are other people in the world who don't deserve that either.

Maybe he needs to do more introspection about weapons manufacturing at Stark Industries.

* * *

What was that? CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT? I'm telling you, I live for Tony and Peter's growth. Still, no L word though. Tony has a bit of a ways to go!

Thank you for reading!❤ 💛💚💙💜

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	10. Keep You Warm, Keep You Safe

Wow! Funny seeing you all here for another Friday update! What a coincidence! This is the chapter you've all been waiting for...that's all I'm going to say about it😇

HOWEVER there are quite a few people asking about where this story is on the MCU timeline, so I updated the tags and I'll give you some info: this takes place in 2005 (Peter was born in 2001 and he's 4 yrs old) which is three years before the events of Afghanistan and the Ten Rings (2008), Iron Man will happen but not in this story, Spider-Man will happen but not in this story, this is NOT a non-powered AU, and yes there will be a sequel. The sequel won't be ANYTIME SOON due to me working on the sequel to Pain Will Always Come Back to Haunt You, but eventually it will happen.

Have fun and stay safe! I'm eagerly awaiting your reactions for this one❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

Keep You Warm, Keep You Safe

The next three days are spent either at one of the parks or inside the Finding Nemo hotel room. When it's time to go home, Peter almost throws a complete fit. Luckily, Tony manages to avoid the full on tantrum by getting him a Captain America onesie, which Peter wears on the flight home. Pepper takes pictures of the two as Peter lounges on Tony like a giant pillow. Needless to say, most of the pictures have Tony glaring at the camera.

By the time they land, it's almost 9:00pm and Peter is half asleep. Tony carries him off the plane, Pepper close behind, while Happy works on gathering the luggage. Even though Tony wants to cradle Peter the whole ride home, Pepper makes sure the toddler is safely strapped into his car seat. When they get to the mansion, Peter is sound asleep and Tony has to carefully unbuckle him as to not wake him up.

"Are you sure you can carry him_ and _ the suitcase?" Pepper asks warily, her eyes glancing down. Tony walks inside nonetheless, holding Peter tight with one arm and the suitcase with the other.

"Yep, we're good," Tony assures as he lowers the suitcase. Peter's head rests on Tony's shoulder as the kid continues to sleep.

"Will you be able to put him in his own room?" Pepper questions with that knowing smile.

"Of course I can," Tony scoffs. "After three nights of sleeping with this rascal in the middle of us, I'm ready for a good night's sleep." It's the truth, he hasn't gotten much sleep with Peter's tossing and turning, but he doesn't really mind it. He knows he can't keep getting attached like this, though. Maybe he could… "Hey, Pep?" At his sudden shift in tone, Pepper's smile fades.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about…" Tony looks down at the sleeping Peter in his arms, "keeping him a while longer?" Pepper's smile slowly returns, but it's much more genuine.

"And how much longer is 'a while?'" she asks for clarification. She knows what Tony means, but she wants to hear him say it. Tony chuckles, though there's little humor behind it.

"Would I be insane to say forever?" he quietly responds. "I just, the thought of losing him after all this is…I can't. I don't want to give him back. He's…he's my kid." He sighs, afraid that saying the words out loud will cause an imaginary curse to be set in motion. A protective anxiety floods his system and screams at him to keep Peter safe.

"I know. He has been for a while." Pepper smiles reassuringly and places a comforting yet firm hand on his shoulder.

"What am I gonna do?" Tony almost pleads barely above a whisper. His jaw is clenched in an effort to hold back the emotions.

"Love him." Pepper's proposition is so simple. He wants to agree, to give in on the spot. He doesn't.

"I'll put him in his room and come to bed in a second." He slowly starts to walk to the hall, but slows to a stop. "Do you think he'll hate me if I keep him here?" Pepper raises a curious eyebrow.

"What makes you think he would?" Tony isn't exactly sure if he has the answer to her question, so he takes a moment to think.

"Growing up in the spotlight, under the eye of the media. Not to mention the heir to a company that makes weapons. Kid of a billionaire genius who's actually an idiot. It's not easy." He lets his stream of consciousness flow.

"That's why you'll be there for him." Once again, a seemingly simple answer to a complicated question. "That's all you _ can _do," Pepper pushes adamantly. There isn't much else to say. Tony turns to look at her confident posture and evident strong will. He offers her a tired smile, turns around, and takes Peter to his room.

It's around 3am when tiny hands slowly push Tony and Pepper's bedroom door open with a creek. Peter waddles to the side of the bed, Stebe loosely hanging in his hand, and tugs on the bed sheet covering Tony.

"Tomy," he whispers. Tony stirs with a tired grumble and squints through half-lidded eyes.

"Mhm?" he mumbles, not quite registering that he's even awake.

"Tomy," Peter whines a bit louder. "Please, Tomy." The toddler's already damp eyes tear up and spill over. As soon as Tony hears the quiet crying, his eyes immediately snap the rest of the way open and his heart rate begins to quicken.

"I'm here, Pete. I'm here." He doesn't hesitate to scoop Peter into his arms.

"Honey?" Pepper sits up groggily, only to see Tony holding Peter tightly to his chest as the boy sobs. She gently places her hand on Tony's shoulder. "I'll go make some hot cocoa," she whispers before leaving the bedroom. Tony continues to rock Peter back in forth in his arms. He can hear Peter's hiccuping cries and feel his trembling body, which just causes his heart to break in two. All he can do is hold the boy tight and soothingly rub circles on his back to try to calm him down. His mind races with all the possibilities of what could cause Peter to be so hysterical, but one idea is first and foremost.

"Did you have another nightmare?" he gently pries, smoothing Peter's hair. The toddler simply nods. "You have to tell me what's going on, bud. I'm here to help you, right?" Another nod. "I know it's scary, but it won't be as scary if you talk about it." Peter looks up at him sheepishly, eyes wide and fearful and trusting. It almost causes Tony's own tears. If he could, he'd take all of Peter's pain in a heartbeat. He distantly wonders if that's what it means to be a parent. Instead, he lies back onto the pillow and brings Peter with him so that the boy is laying on his chest.

"I, I dreamed about Momma and Daddy." Peter's voice quivers as he speaks. Tony doesn't have enough time to hide the shock on his face. It's obvious that Peter had to have parents at one point. Peter wouldn't be here _ without _ biological parents, but it's as if reality just slammed into Tony full force.

"Do you know what happened to your parents?" He just needs to get more information to help Peter, especially if the poor kid is having constant nightmares.

"They're not here anymore," Peter answers, though it sounds rehearsed. "That's what the people said." Ah. It starts to click. Peter's parents died.

"I'm sorry," Tony sighs, holding him tighter.

"I miss them," Peter quietly admits. Tony…really didn't want Peter to be this much like him.

"I understand, kid." They lay in silence for a few moments, slowly breathing together. Tony watches how Peter's body rises and lowers on top of his chest.

"Tomy?" Peter breaks the silence in a hushed tone.

"Yeah?"

"Are you gonna have to, have to go like Momma and Daddy and Miss Manda?" The question, laced with fear, shatters Tony's resolve into painful shards. He takes a shaky breath, knowing he has to keep it together for Peter. His Peter. His kid.

"No. I'll always protect you. I won't leave, I promise." He sucks at promises, but he would sooner die than break this one. Peter's hands hold on tighter.

"Are you gonna be my daddy?" His question is much quieter this time, but it makes Tony's heart skip a beat. Technically, Tony is already Peter's adoptive father. Still, the term "adoptive" or "surrogate" in front of it doesn't feel right. It shouldn't matter whether or not Peter is adopted, he's still Tony's son.

"I'm…I'm going to try my best," Tony answers honestly. Because he is going to try. This isn't some publicity stunt or temporary change anymore. It's real and he's happy.

"I beliebe in you, Tomy." Peter snuggles closer. Trust. Complete and utter trust, and Tony vows not to break it.

Pepper slowly walks in, carrying a sippy cup of hot cocoa. It's more so lukewarm cocoa to not burn Peter's mouth, but it's more about the sentimentality. Peter accepts it with a quiet thank you.

"Is he okay?" Pepper asks, failing to conceal her worry. Honesty isn't Tony's strong suit, but he isn't going to say yes. He simply shrugs his shoulders.

"Thanks, gorgeous. Go to sleep, I've got him," he assures with a tired smile. Pepper kisses him on the cheek before climbing in on her side of the bed.

"Can I sleep with you?" Peter speaks up, albeit shyly. Tony chuckles and scooches Peter onto the mattress.

"Of course." He warmly smiles to Peter, brushing his curly bangs away from his eyes. _ Distance yourself, don't screw him up, _ Tony's thoughts scream at him. "Just stay on your side," he adds meekly, not that it'll make much of a difference.

"I lub you," Peter mumbles with his face half obscured by the pillow. Tony can still feel that twinge of guilt and regret every time Peter says those words. Still, he doesn't return them. Even if he had, Peter is already out like a light. Tony stares at the toddler and can't help but feel like he's holding the most perfect thing in the whole world. Must be another parenting side effect.

"You with me, J?" he whispers in hopes that he won't wake up Peter or Pepper.

"To the ends of the earth, Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. responds instantaneously, matching Tony's volume. "Rather, until I run out of software. Whichever comes first. What do you require?" Even filled with sass at 3am. At least he's consistent.

"I want everything you can find about Peter's parents in his records from the adoption agency. Tell me every last thing, I don't want us to miss anything," Tony orders as he rubs his forehead. He's just hoping for the best case scenario.

"Peter's parents were mother Mary Teresa Parker, maiden name Fitzpatrick, and father Richard Laurence Parker. Date of death for both were February 26th, 2005." Tony's muscles tense. That was just a few months ago, and Peter was already in the system? Granted, Tony has no idea how the adoption process is supposed to work but something doesn't sit right…

"Shouldn't Peter have gone to next of kin? Like, a cousin or an aunt or…?" Tony shoots ideas off the top of his head.

"No alternative family members are listed, Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. regrettably informs. Well, isn't that a sucker punch to the gut. A four-year-old outliving the rest of his family sounds nearly impossible and is probably the most tragic thing Tony has ever heard. The kid lost both his parents at once, which is horrific on its own, but they were also his last family.

"Alright, uh, how'd they die?" He keeps his voice low, afraid that Peter will somehow hear in his sleep.

"According to the documents, the cause of death was plane crash." J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice seems to ring in Tony's ears as his blood runs cold. Realization knocks the wind right out of him. He can't speak for a few painstakingly long moments. He put a child who lost his parents in a plane crash…on a plane. Not just put him on it, _ forced _him on it. Twice.

"Oh _ god," _Tony mutters, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. Peter probably had that sense of impending doom because he thought they'd crash just like his parents did. Tony feels like he's already screwing everything up. Screwing up a kid who has the whole world against him.

"Your heart rate has increased dramatically," J.A.R.V.I.S. announces matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, no shit," Tony gasps out. Shouldn't he have known about this? The kid has nightmares and can't get on planes and thinks everyone around him is going to leave him and-

"Would you like me to call for an AED?" J.A.R.V.I.S. inquiries in a calm tone. With panicked breaths keeping him from speaking, Tony just shakes his head. Okay, alright, he can fix this. Peter has…PTSD, that much Tony can gather. Now what? Does he start sending a four-year-old to therapy? Tony _ hated _ going to therapy when his parents died, but this isn't about him.

"Are there- What do kids go to when stuff like this happens? Do they go to therapy?" Tony's words ineloquently tumble out of his mouth.

"Most young children who experience loss go through grievance counseling," J.A.R.V.I.S. helpfully provides. _ Okay, _ Tony internally notes with a subconscious nod, _ that sounds better than therapy. _

"Wait." Something dreadful dawns on Tony that makes him sick to his stomach. "Obi should've looked into that… He was in charge of the papers. He should've _ seen _ that." He tries to keep himself calm and his voice quiet. "He never mentioned any of this. J.A.R.V.I.S., Obi would've had to go through the documents, right? Or, or the agency would've told him about any possible concerns about Peter?" There's a brief silence.

"I'm afraid so, Sir." Tony shakes his head. It can't be what it sounds like. Obadiah wouldn't do this on purpose. Never. But…Tony can't help considering the idea taking into account how motivated Obadiah has been about getting the company as much positive PR as possible. Tony and Obadiah are going to have a chat tomorrow if it kills him.

By the time Tony wakes up, Peter is snuggled firmly on his chest, lightly snoring and with a bedhead to rival Pepper's. He feels Peter curled up against him and looks to see little fists gripping his tank top. Seeing Peter so warm and perfect just crushes his heart. Why does loving someone have to hurt so bad? He supposes he went through the same thing with loving Pepper, but Peter can't take care of himself. Peter is his responsibility.

Staring at the peacefully sleeping toddler, he realizes that he does in fact love Peter like a son.

"Fuck," Tony mutters, his voice cracking. No way in hell is he backing out now, he's keeping Peter no matter what. He takes a steadying breath and forces his emotions back. Peter starts to stretch his arms out, his eyes still shut, and effectively hits Tony in the face.

"Tomy? Am I on my side?" his groggy voice asks. His lips barely move to get the words out and he doesn't open his eyes, which only makes him more adorable.

"No, Pete," Tony answers as he cups the boy's face gently.

"Oh," is all Peter says for a moment. The two just breathe in silence until he speaks again. "Do I have to go?" Tony sighs, brushing the back of his hand over Peter's pink tinted cheeks.

"No, Pete," he says in a softer tone. As quickly as Peter woke up, he's back asleep. Tony presumes there are worse things than to be stuck in bed cuddling a toddler. It's then that he realizes Pepper isn't in bed.

"Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S.? What's Pep's schedule for the day?" He has a very limited amount of priorities for the day: (1) take care of Peter and (2) talk to Obi. More like interrogate Obi, but he has to let his temper simmer down first so that it doesn't turn into a full blown argument.

"Morning meetings with Mr. Stane including those with the Stark Industries legal team, the Board of Directors, the-"

"I'm sorry, _ what?" _ Tony demands, interrupting J.A.R.V.I.S.. "Donchya think the _ CEO _ of said company should be present at a Board of Directors meeting?" He's met with silence for a few seconds.

"I'm unable to detect if your question is rhetorical, sarcastic, or genuine," J.A.R.V.I.S. eventually divulges, earning a huff of impatience and eye roll from Tony.

"We'll go over sarcasm again later." Tony rubs his forehead before lightly rubbing Peter's shoulder. "Hey, kiddo. Time to wake up. Rise and shine," he says to try to gently pull Peter out of his sleep. Peter whines, not saying anything in particular, and curls further into a ball. "C'mon, you get to hang out with me in the workshop today like a big boy," Tony entices.

"Don't wanna wake up," Peter whines louder this time.

"I'll make you your favorite sandwich," Tony offers in a sing-song voice. This immediately grabs Peter's attention and he peaks up.

"Nanas?"

"And peanut butter. No crust." Tony holds up a hand as if reciting an oath. Peter buries his head back into Tony's chest before saying,

"Up." Tony chuckles, but happily obliges to carry the grumpy toddler as well as Stebe out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

After a healthy, hearty breakfast, the two head down the staircase to the cluttered mess of a lab. Though, Tony considers the term "mess" an over exaggeration. If he still knows where everything is, which he does, then he deems it "organized chaos" instead.

"So, what do you want to do?" He wants to get Peter situated before he starts his own work. He was watching a video about how to keep a kid engaged in an activity, which can supposedly be done by starting the activity with them. Once you get them started and stick around for a few minutes, you can let them be moderately self sufficient. Peter simply shrugs, cuddles Stebe closer, and rests his head on Tony's shoulder. The kid still looks exhausted. "How about paint?" Tony offers in hopes that his upbeat voice will get Peter excited.

"M'kay." Well, one word is better than no words.

"Alrighty, what colors do you want to use?"

"All of them." Peter yawns and blinks tiredly.

"What do you wanna paint?" If Tony can just engage Peter, maybe it'll wake him up.

"Red." That's…not exactly the answer Tony was looking for, but who is he to judge?

"Okay…what should we paint?" he asks in a more clarifying manner.

"A picture." This is going nowhere fast.

"We…can try that. Let me just set you down and I'll go get-" As soon as he tries to put Peter down, the kid starts screaming. He immediately pulls Peter back to his shoulder. "Alright! Alright! We'll improvise. No painting, I guess. Uh…" Tony looks around at the workshop. It isn't exactly toddler friendly and there isn't a place he can just leave Peter in without worrying that he'll get himself into trouble. "Looks like you're sticking with me. Well, _ to _ me," Tony ultimately decides without many other options.

"Tomy?" Peter suddenly asks. Tony raises an eyebrow and tries to look at the boy's hidden face.

"Yeah?"

"Are you my daddy now?" Peter asks sheepishly. _ God, what am I supposed to say? Didn't we already go over this? _ Tony questions himself. He forces his heart rate to stay calm. He made a commitment to keep Peter, right? So, technically, he is a dad. Logically.

"I am," he answers with as much confidence as he can muster.

"Oh," is all Peter says in return. _ Shit, did I fuck this up? _ Tony's heart rate picks back up. _ He's not even over losing his parents and I probably just confused h- _"Can I call you Daddy?" Tony's thoughts come to a screeching halt. Peter wants to call him dad?

"Uh, if, if you want to I guess that's fine. If you want. Not like it matters to me or anything. Go for it." Tony sniffs nonchalantly. He never called his own father _ that, _he realizes.

"M'kay, Daddy." It sounds so…natural, coming from Peter. It doesn't sound forced or uncomfortable, just second nature. Tony takes a deep breath to steady his fried nerves and places a delicate kiss on Peter's temple. Then, he gets to work.

It seems that Peter just wants to be held, his head not lifting from Tony's shoulder. He stays like that as Tony starts working on a previous, not even remotely dangerous, project. Tony purposefully stays far away from anything that could explode and/or hurt them in any way, shape, or form. Still, he has Peter wear a welding mask to protect him just in case. He managed to convince Peter to do this by putting on his own welding mask. Tony quickly figures out that toddlers are just complicated like that. A few hours later, around lunchtime, J.A.R.V.I.S. announces that Rhodey is coming down to the workshop. Tony would assume it's due to business, but he knows better. Rhodey just wants to see Peter.

"Hey, Mister Man!" Rhodey greets Peter enthusiastically with a wave. Peter does his best to do his grabby hand wave in return.

"Hi, Uncle Rhodey." His voice is muffled by the welding mask, but Rhodey can still hear the response.

"Uh, Tony?" Rhodey starts carefully.

"Hm?" Tony hums. His best friend walks up to the table where he's currently working.

"Do you need me to take Peter so you have both hands?" Rhodey offers, but Tony shakes his head.

"No, we're fine," Tony declines. He continues to hold Peter with one arm and work with the other.

"Okay," Rhodey hesitantly concedes. "But you should really be working on…whatever that thing is, with both hands." Tony puts down his tool.

"It's a dual-choke updraught carburettor for aero-engines," he informs in a flat tone. Rhodey leans against the metal workbench and takes in the sight of the other two; Tony and Peter wearing welding masks, the latter also wearing a Captain America themed onesie.

"And why are you two wearing masks? You aren't even welding." Tony lifts both his and Peter's masks in order to look at Rhodey.

"Safety first, Colonel." That earns him an eye roll from Rhodey, but neither have time to respond before Pepper comes walking into the workshop.

"Hey, just wanted to check in on you guys on my lunch break," Pepper quickly rambles. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?" She looks to Peter with a warm smile, but Tony speaks first.

"Oh, look who it is." Pepper slows to a stop at Tony's tone with an incredulous look on her face.

"Hi, Peppa!" Peter excitedly greets, just a beat behind the conversation.

"Excuse me?" Pepper challenges as she crosses her arms. Both her eyebrows are raised and her facial expression practically dares Tony to continue. Of course, Tony has no sense of self-preservation, so he does in fact continue

"Last I checked I'm CEO of Stark Industries. So please, do enlighten me as to why the CEO wasn't at the Board of Directors meeting." He keeps his voice happy to not scare Peter, otherwise his tone would be much more aggravated.

"Now you want to go to meetings? What happened to spending time with Peter first and foremost?" Pepper fires right back without so much as blinking. Tony's eyes narrow, but Pepper has a point. Not that he'll divulge that.

"Touché." He lowers his mask, along with Peter's, and gets back to work. "What, pray tell, was the meeting about then? I bet it was boring," he snorts in amusement. Pepper carefully eyes what Tony's doing as she answers.

"Obadiah wanted to talk about the company's next step. I can hold Peter while you do that," she offers, noting his inability to use his left arm entirely. The last thing she wants is Tony to be distracted as he works on something potentially dangerous.

"I got him," Tony assured as he attempts to focus. He wasn't exactly expecting an audience.

"He wouldn't let me take him either," Rhodey cuts in, giving Pepper a slight smirk. She slowly nods in understanding.

"I can hear you both _ thinking _about conspiring against me," Tony grumbles.

"Conspiring is such a strong word. Y'see," Rhodey turns fully to Pepper, "I've connected the two dots." Tony immediately snorts.

"You didn't connect shit."

"I've connected them." Rhodey keeps his eyes on Pepper. "Tony is this spiky mess that no one wants to touch." Tony instantly lifts his mask at the words and pins Rhodey with a glare.

"Wanna say that again?" he dares. However, Rhodey continues as if nothing was said.

"And Peter's this soft, fuzzy kid." Pepper nods thoughtfully, urging Rhodey to continue. "The reason they're inseparable is because together they're like velcro," Rhodey reveals smugly. Pepper raises an eyebrow and looks back to Tony and Peter.

"Sounds pretty accurate to me," she admits in a playful tone.

"Of course, you're both against me. Fine, but just you wait, I'll remember this." Tony nonchalantly fiddles with his equipment, not paying either of them any mind.

"You gotta admit it, Tones. You just won't let him go," Rhodey pushes.

"Actually, I don't have to admit anything to you. That's the neat thing about freedom of speech," Tony is quick to quip back with a tight-lipped smile. While he has the two there, it actually pops into his head that he wants their opinion on something important. "Hey, bud? Can you do me a favor?" he softly asks Peter.

"Mhm," the toddler responds as Tony lifts the mask.

"It'd help me a _ lot _ if you went and counted the stuff in that box over there." Tony points to a cardboard box by the sofa. He remembers how much Peter likes counting. "Can you do that for me, please?" Peter whines slightly at the idea of letting Tony go, but decides to nod. Tony gently places Peter on the ground and the toddler runs over to the box.

"Okay, what are you planning?" Pepper asks, quick to catch onto Tony's odd behavior. With a deep breath, Tony gets his thoughts out in one fell swoop.

"I'm not sure I want to continue weapons manufacturing with the company." Plain and simple. Short and sweet. Still, Pepper's jaw goes slack and Rhodey's eyes widen.

"You've got to be joking," Rhodey says in disbelief. "'Cause you sure as hell can't be serious."

"Dead serious." Tony lowers his tone to portray just how resolute he is about the idea. Seemingly out of the blue, Peter calls over to the three of them.

"He won't stand for this!" he shouts before promptly sitting down with his arms crossed. The three adults stare back at the pouting toddler, dumbfounded.

"Who raised you?" Tony asks as he stares at the kid with drawn together eyebrows. Peter immediately brightens back up.

"You did!" he chirps.

"Tony," Pepper starts, getting the conversation back on track, "it's a very…noble thing to consider, but then what? We can't exactly repurpose the company as a, as a museum." She tries to point out the obvious flaw in Tony's suggestion.

"I haven't figured that part out yet, but that's a technicality. My point is that I don't want us making things that kill people anymore." Tony tries to stress his words to convey exactly how he's feeling.

"Your weapons kill the _ bad guys," _ Rhodey points out. " Without those, there's no telling what kind of wars would break out."

"Yeah, I get that, but how can you be sure they just kill the bad guys? Huh? A life is a life," Tony continues to urge. The workshop goes silent except for Pete's quiet counting. _ Jeez, has Peter really made me this soft? _he briefly wonders.

"You're trying to do this for Peter," Pepper realizes, a small smile on her face and her eyes shining. Tony lets out a slow breath.

"I can't have him grow up in a world where I make things that kill people. I don't want to teach him that hurting people is bad, then have him see missiles on TV with my name plastered on the side. I want to practice what I preach." Finally, it's out in the open. He can't help but feel a bit lighter, actually. Pepper slowly walks up to him and places her hands on either side of his face.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispers. Tony smiles and puts his hands over hers.

"This is great and all, man, but how are you going to tell all this to Obadiah?" Rhodey questions, making a good point. He's not one to get swept up in emotions. Tony's jaw sets firmly in agitation.

"I have more than a few things to say to him, don't worry." Peter comes first, the company comes second. He marvels at how priorities can change at the drop of a hat, or in his case the adoption of a child, but he doesn't question it. Peter is the most important thing in his life and he's going to find out the truth no matter what the cost.

* * *

IT. HAPPENED. IRONDAD IS OFFICIALLY IRON D A D.

Thank you for reading!❤ 💛💚💙💜

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	11. Fox in the Henhouse

AAAAAAAAAHHHH IN CASE YOU DIDNT SEE IT YET, SPIDER-MAN IS OFFICIALLY BACK IN THE MCU AS OF AN HOUR AGO AND I'M SO HAPPY SJFKHHSFDJ

ANYWHO another week coming to the end and another chapter of our favorite family :) Happiness is on the horizon and we confront Obadiah today! I'm sure everything will go perfectly 😊 Thank you everyone for your support and feedback as always! love you all 3000

Have fun and stay safe❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

Fox in the Henhouse

"Use your words to tell me what you want, please," Tony says strictly to the pouting toddler with a trembling lip. Peter is on the verge of a tantrum simply because he wants a banana, but can't reach it. He's currently trying to get past Tony with his arms reaching towards the counter. Tony, however, keeps a firm hand on Peter's head to keep the kid at bay. "You can't go climbing on the counters whenever you want something. You could fall and get hurt." With a sigh, Tony kneels down to Peter's height.

"Daddy," Peter whines as he stomps his feet, only getting more and more impatient.

"Nope, tell me what you want and I'll help you." Tony knows exactly what Peter wants, but he wants to hear it.

"Nana," the toddler gives in, then adds, "please." Tony smiles proudly before standing up straight to grab one of the bananas. "Thank you." Peter may have tantrums like every other toddler, but he has exceptional manners.

"You're very welcome. Can you tell me what color your banana is?" Tony peels the banana and hands it off to Peter, who happily takes a big bite out of it.

"Lellow!" The happy answer makes Tony beam with pride.

"That's right! Good job," he praises, ruffling Peter's hair. He leads them both into the living room where Pepper and Rhodey are sitting on the pleather couch. "I thought Obi was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago." Tony doesn't direct the statement at either of them in particular, he just announces the obvious to the room. Peter runs over to Pepper and tries to crawl up her legs into her lap.

"He said he would," Rhodey confirms as he helps Peter up. The toddler happily leans back against Pepper, who chuckles and wraps her arms around him.

"Well he's _ not _here," Tony points out. He sits down to avoid pacing and puts a hand over his mouth thoughtfully. If it wasn't already evident that he's an impatient man, it is now. The longer he waits, the more he feels like he lets Peter down. Peter quickly catches on to Tony's stress.

"It's okay, Daddy!" he tries to cheer, but it just makes Tony's head snap up. Tony's eyes soften when they meet Peter's and he offers his kid an assuring smile.

"When did this happen?" Rhodey casually inquires with a knowing smile. Tony clears his throat and composes himself.

"It's a, uh, new development. Don't look at me like that," he warns Rhodey without any anger in his tone. All Pepper does is stare at Tony with the most loving, supportive eyes he could possibly imagine. She knew they'd be good for each other, and she's so glad to finally see it paying off.

"If Tomy's my daddy then, then does that mean Peppa's my momma?" Peter speaks up, leaning back to look at Pepper upside down. Pepper looks down at him in shock, her eyes glistening, before she smiles pleasantly.

"If you'd like me to be." She doesn't want to force him into anything, so she gives him the freedom to decide.

"You make a good momma," Peter agrees, before facing forward like nothing happened. Of course, Pepper is left with tears in her eyes. She pulls him closer and rests her head on the top of his. The exchange absolutely warms Tony's heart that he almost forgets why they're waiting. That is, until the elevator doors open.

"Tony! Squirt! How was laying low in Disneyland?" Obadiah greets as he walks into the room. Tony is instantly rocketed back into the present.

"Hi, Obi!" Peter excitedly waves at him.

"Fantastic, actually," Tony answers honestly. "How was that Board of Directors meeting?" He might as well open strong considering where the conversation is going to end up.

"It was productive," Obadiah replies vaguely, glancing to Pepper. "The Board wanted to make sure you're fit to be CEO while raising a child." And there's the catch. Tony turns to look at Pepper, then back to Obadiah.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Tony crosses his arms indignantly. "I can run a company and raise Pete. The only reason I've been gone is 'cause I've been on…" he looks back to Rhodey and Pepper, "paternity leave? That's the term, right?" Before either of them can confirm, Obadiah cuts back in.

"They're concerned that you can't handle that kind of distraction. That you're sudden lack of interest in the company could lead to later complications," Obadiah relays, carefully eyeing Tony's reaction. Tony stares at him, before pursing his lips.

"You know what? This is perfect. A perfect segway to talk about one of my concerns."

_ "Your _ concerns?" Obadiah clarifies incredulously.

"Yes, _ my _concerns." Tony isn't afraid to repeat it and does so with more confidence behind his voice.

"And that's my cue to leave. I've got work to do, but I'll keep in touch. Call me if you need anything, Tones." As soon as the words leave Rhodey's mouth, Tony pulls out his phone and faces away from his friend. Rhodey takes all of two steps before his own cell phone starts ringing. He turns around and pins Tony with a disappointed, yet unsurprised look. "Really?"

"You should probably answer that," Tony responds nonchalantly, his own phone up to his ear. Rhodey breathes an exasperated sigh, but plays along by answering his phone with a monotonous,

"Hello."

"Hey, Gumdrop. You said I could call if I need anything, so I'd like to cash that in." Tony turns back around and feigns surprise. "Oh, look! You're already here! That was fast. Mind watching the Munchkin for me? Thanks." He promptly hangs up and gives Rhodey an innocent smile, as if he has done nothing wrong.

"Alright, looks like Uncle Rhodey's stepping in," Rhodey gives in.

"I'll press the panic button if I need you, Honeybear." Tony is somewhat joking. He has a button on his watch that automatically sends Rhodey a text asking for assistance if he's stuck in a particularly boring meeting. If Tony presses it twice, however, it becomes an S.O.S. signal. But the only times he's used that signal is when the paparazzi gets too excited and Happy isn't around or if there's a threat nearby.

Rhodey walks over to Pepper and Peter to scoop the kid up and sit him atop his shoulders. Peter laughs, making Tony's heart sing, and holds onto the top of Rhodey's head.

"He likes Finding Nemo," Tony informs as the two leave the room. "And Monster's Inc.! And books! And don't take Stebe away! He'll throw a fit!" he calls after them, just in case. Does being a parent always come with this much anxiety?

"I should probably get back to work too before I'm buried in emails," Pepper says as she promptly stands.

"Bye. Ta ta," Tony waves her off, earning himself a good-natured glare in return. Once Pepper has left too, Tony gets straight to business. "I want to change the direction of the company." Obadiah raises both of his eyebrows.

"You what? What, what do you-"

"I don't want us to make weapons anymore. It's not doing the world any favors if we're blowing it sky high. I don't want Peter living in that kind of hellscape," Tony firmly states. The air goes still as Obadiah processes Tony's words. After a few tense moments, the man chuckles.

"Come on, Tony. That's what we _ do. _ We sell weapons! You want to talk about the world? We make the world go 'round. Without that, the world devolves into chaos and we're broke!" Obadiah exclaims, desperately trying to point out the obvious flaws in Tony's request. He rubs his forehead in mild frustration.

"I'm fully aware of that. We'll find something else. We invent things, it can't be that difficult. I'll find a way to get the whole thing rolling. I just," Tony huffs, trying to find the right words, "I know what we're doing isn't right. I can _ feel _ it."

"Great," Obadiah comments sarcastically with a nod. "We're betting the future of the company on a _ 'feeling?'" _ He throws up quotations and copies Tony's tone.

"I'm being serious, Obi. One day Peter's gonna ask what it is I do, and I don't want to tell him that I hurt people. I want to do something that makes him proud to be my kid. I have to set a good example for him." Tony maintains eye contact with Obadiah to try to convey just how much he means what he's saying. He doesn't want this Stark Industries to be his legacy. Not anymore.

"Ah," Obadiah nods a few times in sudden realization, "this is about Peter." Tony almost scoffs.

"Of course it's about Peter," he states as if Obadiah should have read his mind. Everything's about Peter now.

"I could've sworn a last week you couldn't wait to get him detached and sent off. That's why we made the plan somewhat temporary," Obadiah reminds. He puts on that confident smile, the one that tries to convince everyone that everything is peachy keen. It's a business man's smile.

"Great timing! Let's talk about Peter's adoption, shall we?" Tony deadpans without restraint. He stands up to come face-to-face with Obadiah. _ "You _ said he wasn't going to be a problem. 'His background is spotless,' remember?! And now I find out the poor kid has been through hell and back! He lost his parents! Has nightmares! PTSD! The whole damn nine yards!" He doesn't try to contain his anger, because dammit this is his kid. This is important and the idea of Peter going through something this traumatic makes him want to scream at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, hey, hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves here." Obadiah tries to reel the conversation back in from getting too over the top, but Tony is having none of it.

"You knew about _ everything. _ The plane crash, the parents. Peter was only in foster care for a few measly months! He needs grievance counseling, something I could've gotten him _ ages _ ago if you had been honest with me," he seethes through clenched teeth. He makes a conscious effort to keep his voice lowered so Peter can't hear their arguing. However, Obadiah doesn't seem all that phased. He clasps his hands in front of him and presses his lips together.

"I don't know what you expected, Tony. He was an orphan. There's a very limited amount of ways to join that club. Take your pick." The two stare each other down, waiting for the other to make a move. It ends up being Obadiah. "Listen, you gotta give me some credit. I'm always on your side, right? We're a team." He clasps his hand firmly on Tony's shoulder. "You know me, Tony. Look, I apologize for keeping that information from you. I didn't want it to…discourage from getting Peter. I knew he was a great kid! I wanted you to see that for yourself, okay? Alright? You want to keep him? Then I'll be here to support you, like I always do." He loosely slings his arm around Tony's shoulder. His words seem to take an invisible, emotional weight off of Tony and he lets out a relieved laugh.

"Thank you," he states simply. He'd fight tooth and nail over the subject, but having Obadiah's support makes a huge difference. "There's no way in hell I could ever just get rid of Peter. He's a part of the family now."

"And that's what I was aiming for. I knew he'd be a good fit. As for the, uh," Obadiah vaguely gestures to the air, "new company direction, I'll talk with the Board of Directors again. In fact, I'll even set up a meeting for you. How's that?" Tony doesn't exactly…favor the whole "going to meetings" thing.

"Obi-"

"Trust me, Tony. It'll be better than me trying to relay all the information to you. You want change? Go straight to the source. We just had a meeting, we can have another one. Go talk to Pepper and she'll get it going, alright? She's probably at the facility by now." Obadiah pats his shoulder encouragingly and starts leading them towards the elevator.

"Right this second? What about Peter?" Tony doesn't want to leave his kid behind, especially after what happened last night. But if this is what he has to do to make things right, then maybe it's a good choice.

"I know you got away with bringing him to my office, but meetings aren't a good environment for toddlers. You want to make a good impression after all. Tell you what," Obadiah stops them in front of the elevator doors and offers Tony reassuring grin, "I'll help Rhodey keep an eye on Peter and you find a way to turn this thing around. I'm close with the kid, it won't be a problem. He'll barely notice you're gone." Tony is conflicted to say the least. He doesn't want to go, but he's doing it for Peter and that's a good enough reason for him. This will be the first step to turning the company into something he's proud of.

"Thanks, Obi. you're a lifesaver," he says gratefully and nods a few times to himself. Deep breaths. The elevator doors open and he gets inside, already putting on that smug, overconfident, Tony Stark façade.

"It's what I do," Obadiah says nonchalantly. "Good luck, don't insult anyone." Tony raises a mischievous eyebrow coupled with a smirk as the elevator doors close in front of him.

Obadiah stands in place for a few moments. His smile drops. He wants to throw a chair across the room. Instead, he lets out a stress-filled breath and rubs his head. Every time he talks to Tony it's like a guaranteed headache, but now _ this? _ A weapons-free weapons company? What a joke. He quickly composes himself before walking down the hall to Peter's room.

Rhodey and Peter are both sitting on the floor in front of a flatscreen TV watching Finding Nemo. Peter doesn't tear his eyes away from the screen when Obadiah enters, but Rhodey looks up.

"He send you in for babysitting duty too?" Rhodey asks with a chuckle. Obadiah simply plasters on a smile.

"He's always been good at dishing out orders. I managed to get him to go to a meeting," he divulges. Rhodey nods, somewhat impressed.

"I don't even wanna know how you managed to do that. Looks like we're both stuck in here now." Rhodey says that, but he doesn't actually mind spending time with Peter. He's a smart, entertaining kid, so babysitting isn't the worst job he could have for the time being. Obadiah, on the other hand, shoves his hands into his pockets.

"Hey, I know you were trying to get back to your job. How about I watch Peter while you're all out getting work done?" he offers sincerely. Rhodey immediately jumps at the chance.

"Are you sure? That'd be great. I can't afford to get in anymore trouble with all the stuff Tony pulls." He gets to his feet, giving the enthralled Peter a gentle noogie. Peter tries to swat his hand away, but his eyes are still glued to the TV. "Obadiah's gonna watch you, okay?" he asks with a soft voice.

"M'kay," Peter says without fuss. Rhodey shakes his head with a smile and walks to Obadiah.

"Just keep this on and he won't be a problem. The kid's hypnotized by it." Obadiah chuckles at the information.

"Duly noted, Colonel." Obadiah flashes a smile and walks up to Peter to take Rhodey's spot.

"Alright man, good luck. My line's open if you need anything," Rhodey offers as he exits the room. Obadiah hums affirmative in response, waiting until he hears the elevator close before he turns his attention on the small toddler illuminated by the light from the TV screen. Peter stares straight ahead, not acknowledging the change in company. Who would've known that such a small kid could cause Obadiah so much trouble. He thought Peter would distract Tony, not make him have a damned conscience for the first time in his life. Obadiah steadies himself as to not let his anger get the better of him. He has more important things to focus on.

"Hey, Squirt!" he greets enthusiastically. "Wanna go for a drive?"

* * *

And I oop- ._. I've actually looked forward to this cliffhanger for a while lol

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	12. And the World Came Crashing Down

Hey everyone! I must say, I love the name of this chapter and it pretty accurately hints about the mood we all went through last chapter and possibly what Tony might go through in this chapter...

ANYWAYS foreshadowing aside, thank you all so incredibly much for the love and support as always! Not to mention the response from last chapter! Hearing how much everyone wants to start a riot against Obadiah was fantastic and highly amusing lol Trust me, I'm in that boat with you! Good luck handling today's chapter ;)

Have fun and stay safe❤💛💚💙💜

* * *

And the World Came Crashing Down

The car is quiet as Obadiah drives and Peter sits in the backseat. Obadiah makes no move to initiate a conversation, he just silently drives towards their destination. Peter kicks his feet back and forth and tries to look out the windows. If he were in his booster seat, he would be able to see out. But this is a different car. It isn't Tony's.

"Obi?" he calls to the front seat. He doesn't notice Obadiah's hands tighten around the steering wheel.

"Yeah, Squirt?" Obadiah makes his voice sound as pleasant as he can.

"I'm not in my seat." Peter scooches forward to try to get a better look at Obadiah.

"It's okay, it's a short drive," Obadiah assures. The last thing he wants to do is talk to this kid more. He has spent more time getting on Peter's good side than he'd ever wanted to. Than he'd ever meant to.

"Where are we going?" Peter asks curiously, only adding to Obadiah's impatience. Obadiah is about to answer, but stops himself. Instead, he chooses to take advantage of the moment.

"I hate to tell you this, but I was talking with Tony, you might've heard us shouting…" He lets his voice slow to a stop, a slight smirk on his lips.

"Yeah… Is, is Daddy upset?" Peter questions desperately. The word makes Obadiah want to grind his teeth. Since when had Tony allowed Peter to call him _ dad _ of all things? He let this go too far. _ What an idiot. _

"He is," he continues to feign regret. "You see, he isn't great at the whole _ dad _ thing, Squirt." Peter tilts his head to the side in confusion.

"But he said he's my Daddy," the toddler firmly counters. Obadiah can't help but roll his eyes. Luckily, Peter can't see him anyways.

"I'm sorry, Peter, but he lied," he states simply. His tone is still light so it seems like he pities the kid. As if.

"Daddies don't lie," Peter argues with a shaky voice. Obadiah sighs dramatically.

"He's not your father. He was only a temporary guardian, which is why I have to take you back," he adds enough pity to his voice for it to come off convincingly.

"Back?" Peter whispers.

"To the agency. I don't want to do it, but," Obadiah sighs again, "Tony didn't want to do it himself. I tried to tell him to keep trying, but he wouldn't listen. He just doesn't want you." Peter's entire world seems to shatter. For some reason…his heart hurts. The same kind of hurt when his mom and dad left. Tears quickly fill his eyes and spill over onto his rosy cheeks.

"But…he promised." He sniffs and tries to hold back the sobs, which turn into hiccuping cries.

"Now don't cry, Squirt," Obadiah distractedly comforts as he searches for a parking spot. "You didn't do anything wrong. Tony's just not a nice person. I'm sure you'll find a much better home."

"I want Daddy! Come back, Daddy! Daddy, come back!" Peter freely cries, rubbing his cheeks with his palms and gasping in breaths.

"For Christ's sake," Obadiah mutters in frustration, but finally finds a parking spot along the curb. Meanwhile, Peter cries loudly in the backseat, begging for Tony.

"I wan' Stebe 'n I wan' Peppa 'n I wan' Tomy!" he bawls, reverting to the old names as his chest quivers. Obadiah gets out of the car, braces himself for dealing with a temper tantrum, and opens the back door.

"I told you, he doesn't want you. I'm sorry, I really am, but I'm just doing my job here. I can't help that Tony wants to give you back," he calmly explains as he unbuckles the squirming child. Peter kicks his legs and bangs his small fists on the leather seats.

"He promised!" he hiccups. "He promised! He said so!" Somehow, Obadiah manages to pick Peter up and loosely hold him in one arm.

"I know, I know," he consoles with fake sympathy as he makes sure the doors are locked. "But I can't have you giving him anymore ideas," he adds in a hushed mumble. Honestly, he doesn't care if Peter hears or not. The kid won't even be his problem in a few minutes. As soon as Peter is on Obadiah's hip, he latches onto the man. His hands tighten around Obadiah's coat in frantic desperation, yet all Obadiah can think about is how wrinkled his suit will be afterwards.

They cross the street and Obadiah pushes the doors open with ease. He plasters on a convincing smile and greets the man at the front desk.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you, sir?" the man greets.

"I have some documents here that should clear everything up." Straight down to business, Obadiah pulls out a set of papers from inside his coat as he lightly bounces the crying child in his arms. The receptionist looks over the papers, then looks up at Obadiah with both confusion and sadness in his eyes.

"You want to relinquish your rights to the child?" he repeats, lowering the documents onto his desk. Obadiah takes a deep breath.

"I don't, but my…boss does. He's not my kid, so it's not my say," he points out. "Besides, he was only fostering. He already signed off his rights." This was the crucial part of his plan. The receptionist carefully reads over the documents, but everything seems to be in order. The signature is as clear as day and the agreement was only for a week of foster care.

"Alright, sir. I'll call for someone." The receptionist picks up the nearby phone and holds it up to his ear. As Obadiah impatiently waits, Peter continues to plead softly. Obadiah doesn't care enough to focus on the words, but as soon as an employee comes to get Peter, the toddler's pleas get louder.

"I don' wanna go!" Peter suddenly screams as the employee tries to gently pull him away. Obadiah flinches at the loud yell and tries to pry Peter's hands off his coat. "I don' wanna go, Obi, please. Please, I don' wanna go! I don' wanna go…" Peter begs as tear after tear drips off his chin and onto the floor. They finally manage to get him off of Obadiah, who gathers himself and straightens his jacket. He says nothing as Peter is carried away.

It's 3:22pm when Tony gets home.

As he rides up the elevator, he browses through his phone until it buzzes in his hand. It's a message from Pepper, which is odd considering she never texts him while she's working. That is, unless he did something stupid and she's texting to lecture him. He cautiously opens the text, mentally preparing himself.

**Pep Potts**

Pepper: _ Tony you have to see this _

Pepper: _ Tony-Stark-spends-… _

It's a link to a gossip website of all things. With a raised eyebrow, Tony clicks on the link and is brought to a web page titled "Tony Stark spends Weekend at Disneyland with girlfriend Pepper Potts to welcome Adoptive Son into the Family." He rolls his eyes, not only at the haphazard capitalization, but at the fact that the media still managed to snag photos of them. He specifically told Obadiah to keep the media out of the trip and they never got recognized once. They even made a conscious effort to wear casual clothing and Disney merch to lay low. At least they didn't divulge Peter's name publicly.

When the elevator doors open, he huffs in mild frustration and walks out with a thumb rubbing his forehead.

"C'mon Obi, I specifically said no press." He stretches his arms out, exhaustion pulling at his limbs. When he's met with silence and no response, he quirks an eyebrow. "Obi?" He walks into the living room with a full view of the main part of the house, but it's empty. Logic tells him that he's probably just in Peter's room along with Rhodey, yet something doesn't feel right. The house is dead silent, which causes anxiety to course through him.

As he walks down the hall to Peter's room, he forces himself to stay calm. He slowly pushes the door open just to be met with an empty room. _ Deep breaths, _ he tells himself, _ they're probably just somewhere else in the house or- _ His heart drops when his eyes lock onto Stebe lying on the floor. Peter wouldn't leave that bear behind, he takes it absolutely everywhere. Something has to be wrong. Something _ tells _ him that something is wrong. With a shaky hand, he picks up Stebe.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., where's Peter?" he questions with a tight voice. "What happened to Rhodey and Obi?" There's a brief moment where J.A.R.V.I.S. doesn't respond and Tony is about to lose his temper.

"I'm not sure. Colonel Rhodes left shortly after you," J.A.R.V.I.S. answers calmly, but it doesn't help Tony. "According to my surveillance, Mr. Stane offered to watch Peter, then said they were going for a drive." Tony's hold tightens around the stuffed animal. His jaw clenches as his mind goes back and forth. He's at odds with himself. Obadiah wouldn't do anything bad, he's family, right? But something nags at him. Obadiah hasn't been honest with him since the adoption. And now Obadiah takes Peter out without a heads up?

"Where," Tony demands.

"I don't know," J.A.R.V.I.S. regretfully replies, sending Tony's anger over the edge.

"Well find out! Track his phone! Track his car! Find my kid!" Tony lashes out. He runs a hand through his hair and tries to plan out what he's going to do. If anything happens to Peter-

"There's no need to do that, Tony." He whips around to face the sudden voice, then lets out a trembling, relieved breath. Obadiah is standing in the doorway comfortably with his hands in his suit pockets.

"You scared the shit out of me. I was about ready to panic." Tony chuckles breathlessly. His smile slowly fades when he doesn't see Peter. "Where's Pete?" Obadiah stands up straight and rolls out his shoulders.

"When I, uh, suggested adopting a kid for the sake of the company's image, I never thought it would go this far," he admits, slowly taking steps into the room. Tony's eyes narrow in confusion.

"I don't-"

"I thought having a kid around to distract you and exhaust you would be enough to take you away from focusing on the company." Obadiah shuts the door behind him. "But, here we are, at odds about what should happen to a multi-million dollar weapon industry." His dress shoes clack against the hardwood floor as he takes carefully planned steps forward.

"You were…what?" Tony knows that all the pieces are there, practically being thrown at him, but he doesn't want to put it together.

"Come on, Tony," Obadiah says in exasperation, "use that brain everyone talks so much about." Tony grinds his teeth, his eyebrows coming together.

"This whole damn thing was just an act to get at the company?" His temper flares at the thought of Obadiah using not only him, but Peter to get what he wants. "How could you be okay with using a kid?!" he yells. The volume of his voice doesn't get a reaction out of Obadiah like he wants it to.

"I have to say, I didn't expect Peter to inspire you to stop making weapons. That was an unfortunate side effect," Obadiah confesses, his voice still light despite the gravity of his words. As soon as Peter's name leaves Obadiah's mouth, Tony feels an overwhelming urge to punch him in the face.

"Don't you dare say his name."

"You know, that's what I wasn't expecting either. You, selfish, egotistical, irresponsible, actually fell for that brat? I expected so much more _ resilience _from you." Tony swallows thickly, his hands trembling with anger. He goes to take a menacing step forward, but stops when he hears a mechanical click.

"Guns aren't really my style," Obadiah looks at the weapon in his hand, "but I thought it would be poetic to kill you with one of your own." His tone is carefree, only adding to Tony's panic and frustration.

"If you did anything to Peter I swear I'll make you regret it," he threatens. He deliberately clasps his hands behind him and inches his fingers towards his watch. Now he just has to hope Obadiah doesn't notice it. He presses the button on the side twice.

"Can't have you shutting down the weapons manufacturing, Tony. That's not an option. Unrealistic, at its core." Obadiah stops in front of Tony, slightly shaking his head. "I can't believe that kid somehow gave you a conscience." This time, Tony is the one who takes a step closer.

"This isn't a goddamn game! That's my _ son! _ Where is he?!" There's so much rage in his voice that it almost tears his throat up. He wouldn't be surprised if his voice were hoarse afterwards. The only thing holding him back from beating Obadiah to a pulp is the gun in his hand. He can't help Peter if he's dead. With any luck, Rhodey is hopefully on the way.

"I took him back," Obadiah simply states. All the color drains from Tony's face.

"You what…?" He doesn't hide the shock that takes over his face. "You, you can't do that! He's _ mine _ by _ law! _ You can't just take him back!" he counters with pure anger. How _ dare _he return Peter like some kind of broken toy.

"By law, huh? Did you happen to, well, read the 'adoption' papers?" Obadiah's voice is so calm that all Tony wants to do is scream. Still, Tony can't find an answer. He never looked over the papers, he just…signed them. "I didn't _ make _ you sign anything. Whose fault was it that they didn't read what they signed?" Obadiah questions when Tony doesn't respond. "You signed to foster. Not to adopt. He was never your kid. Guess you should've told Pepper afterall." The worst part is that Tony knows Obadiah is right. Pepper usually goes through any and all documents before getting Tony's signature, but he originally didn't tell her about the adoption. This wasn't what Tony was expecting when he decided to look into Peter's past and get the truth out of Obadiah. He said he would find out the truth no matter what the cost… He didn't expect the cost to be Peter.

"You're a sick piece of shit, I hope you know that," Tony insults through gritted teeth. Obadiah chuckles lightly, the gun still held tightly in his hand.

"Tony Stark returns his adopted kid and drags his business through the mud. So, for the good of the company, he has to be pushed as far away from the company name as possible. Leaving me as the only logical successor." Tony snorts as a slight, humorless smile makes its way onto his face.

"Assflash newshole, the company _ is _my name. Good luck getting anywhere with Stane Industries," he counters, using humor to cover up his anxiety. Sweat starts to gather on his forehead as he impatiently waits for Rhodey swoop in.

"They won't want your name when it's attached to a heartless man who gave back his child. Not to mention one who wanted to destroy the company by not making weapons." A hint of Obadiah's frustration leaks through his calm demeanor as his voice rises. As quick as it came, his frustration is replaced by that of an eerie calm. "I guess it won't matter when you're dead." He raises the gun so that it's level with Tony's chest. Tony's heart beats faster as adrenaline floods his system, but he doesn't flinch. He doesn't even move.

"You forgot one small detail, dipshit." Obadiah lifts an unconvinced eyebrow. "You're in _ my _ goddamn house. Got all that, J?"

"Every word, Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. responds without hesitation. Obadiah's comfortable smile drops and it's Tony's turn to smirk. "And it appears we have guests." As soon as he finishes, the bedroom door is kicked in and armed men flood in shouting orders.

"Drop the weapon! Now! Get down on the ground! Hands behind your head!" Rhodey shouts over the rest, his own gun trained on Obadiah. He wouldn't have believed it if he didn't see Obadiah with a Stark Industries gun aimed directly at Tony.

Obadiah might be bold coming in the mansion with a gun, but he isn't stupid or self-sacrificial. He drops the gun on command and reluctantly places both hands behind his head. The men swarm him to make sure he isn't concealing other weapons while one cuffs Obadiah's hands behind his back. Rhodey rushes to Tony's side in an instant.

"You okay, Tones?" He gives his friend a once over to make sure he isn't hurt. Even though he doesn't see any sign of injury, Tony frantically shakes his head.

"One sec," Tony says before marching over to Obadiah and promptly punches him in the jaw. The man staggers slightly from the force of the blow, but the armed men hold him firmly. Tony walks back to Rhodey, shaking out his hand. "You were saying?" _ Damn that felt good. _

"What the hell happened?" Rhodey asks, a few steps behind the whole situation but effectively impressed by the punch.

"He took Pete. I have to get him back." Tony's hands shake from the adrenaline and pure _ fear _ that his kid is back at the place he had to be after his parents died.

"Took him? Where?" All Tony has to do is give Rhodey a look for it to click. "To the agency?" Rhodey questions in disbelief, his eyes going wide. All Tony can do is nod, his voice not cooperating due to panic.

"You think that's the only trick I have up my sleeve? Not even close." Both of their heads snap to Obadiah. "You'll get what's coming to you, Tony. And I'll be there to watch you fall," he guarantees as he's pulled from the room. Tony takes deep, shaky breaths, trying to get his brain to function properly. Peter. He needs to get to Peter.

"I gotta go. Catch Pep up on everything and tell her I'm going to the adoption agency." With those simple instructions, he runs out of the room. He has to make this right.

"Tony!" Rhodey calls after him, sprinting to catch up. "No way in hell can you drive like this. You text Pepper, I'll drive," he orders more than offers. Under any other circumstances, Tony would've scoffed at being ordered around. This is different.

"Thanks," Tony says gratefully as they run down the stairs. He has no idea how he's going to convince the agency to let him see Peter, but no one is going to get between him and his son. He's going to make it up to Peter if it's the last thing he does.

* * *

An angry Irondad and a heartbroken Spiderson? What could go wrong?

Thank you for reading!❤💛💚💙💜

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	13. Everything is Nothing Without You

And so begins the final chapter... Hey everyone! Welcome to the final chapter of Spidey Tot and I gotta say, it's a doozy. But fear not...you, being the ever so observant reader I know you are, might've noticed an EXTRA CHAPTER added! However, the 14th chapter is actually a surprise I thought of: a post-credit scene 😏 It won't be long, around 500 words, but it will allude to what the sequel's plot will entail! I'll upload it here on SUNDAY.

On another note, I'd like to thank all of you for reading this story and interacting with it so much! It's been an absolute blast hearing about your theories, how much you love Tony's character development, and your hate of Obadiah! Haha, I appreciate every single one of you and hope this ending is everything you've hoped for :)

Have fun and stay safe, and I love you all 3000 ❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

Everything is Nothing Without You

The line rings a few times before there's an answer, all the while Tony's heart is hammering painfully against his chest.

"Hey," Pepper answers sweetly. "How did the meeting go?" Tony swallows thickly and shakes his head, even though he knows Pepper can't see it. He's panicking and he can't formulate the words to tell her what's going on. "Tony?" Pepper prompts when she doesn't get a response, then her stomach drops. "What happened?" She knows something's wrong, and if it's affecting Tony this much, it has to be about…

"He took Peter," Tony says with a tight voice as he tries to reel in his anguish as well as his temper. He closes his eyes, leans his head back against the seat, and rubs his face. Rhodey can feel the stress radiating off of his best friend and briefly glances to him. All he can do to help is drive faster without getting them killed.

"Excuse me? Who?!" As soon as Pepper grits out her demand, she's rushing out of the facility with a scary determination. Tony's hand tightens around Stebe, the stuffed bear still laying in his arms.

"Obi." His answer almost causes Pepper to stop, but all she does is slightly hesitate before opening her car door.

"He took Peter?" she questions in disbelief. Still, she doesn't dwell on it. "Where?" Her tone is filled with too many emotions to pinpoint, but it's mostly rage…and fear. Peter is just as much her boy as he is Tony's, and she can't bear losing him. Rogue tears slip out of her eyes as she backs her car out and curses her body for portraying rage through tears.

"The agency," Tony supplies, clenching his teeth. The mere thought of Peter thinking they abandoned him makes Tony want to scream. Pepper presses her lips together and takes a deep breath through her nose.

"I'm on my way," she states resiliently.

"No," Tony sits up again, "we're just about there. By the time you get here we'll be gone if I have anything to say about it." It goes unsaid, but he doesn't want Pepper to have to see Peter so upset. He knows Peter is going to be a wreck, he knows his kid. Like father like son, he supposes.

"You don't get a say in this!" Pepper finally cracks, tears spilling down her cheeks, and she doesn't care who hears or sees. "He's my kid too!" she yells, her voice raspy with emotion. Tony takes a deep breath to not let her breakdown trigger his own, because he can feel his coming. But he has to be strong for Peter.

"Damn right he is," Tony agrees before saying anything else. "Hell, I'd go as far as to say he's more yours than mine. You always had the best intentions at heart when I didn't." He knows this isn't the time for guilt, but the thought of losing Peter forever doesn't help his raw emotions. Rhodey grips Tony's arm in reassurance.

"Don't talk like that," Pepper disagrees resolutely. "You love him. I know you do." Tony looks out the window and bites the inside of his cheek to keep from losing his resolve. His eyebrows crease together, feeling conflicted as his heart aches. "I'm going to go home and start sending lawyers your way," Pepper assures, gathering her anger into something more productive than screaming. Tony nods gratefully and takes a deep breath.

"Your the best. I'll make this all right. I'll fix this, I promise." With his promise, Pepper's anxiety is at least somewhat relieved.

"Good," is all she can say for a moment. "Tony?" There's a beat of silence where Tony waits with bated breath, ready to give her the world if she asked. "Get our son back." With that, she promptly hangs up.

At the end tone, Tony looks up to see the dreaded building. Before Rhodey can even fully stop the truck, Tony is hopping out onto the curb and barging into the building with quick, purposeful steps. Tony has Stebe clenched in his hand as he searches for an employee. His eyes immediately lock onto the receptionist.

"You! Asswipe! Give me back my son!" He points a commanding finger at the receptionist and stomps towards him. The receptionist's eyes go wide, whether it's because Tony Stark is charging him with obvious anger or he was called "asswipe" is unclear.

"I, I'm sorry, sir, but I can't just give you-"

"You can 'cause he's my kid!" Tony interrupts as he fumes. "His name's Peter Parker and I want to see him!"

"You, you can't. Peter just got back and if you're thinking about fostering or adopting-" The poor receptionist, once again, doesn't get to finish his sentence before being cut off.

"I don't have time for this," Tony mutters before barging past the receptionist and through the side doors.

"Sir!" the man calls, but Tony ignores him.

"Peter!" he shouts as he makes his way down the familiar light blue halls.. The last time he came here, he met Peter for the first time in some playroom. That entire day was kind of a blur, so he does his best to try to find the same room. He turns a corner in hopes that he's going the right way, only to come face-to-face with Amanda.

"What are you doing here?" For some reason, she looks confused.

"Where's Peter? I need to see Peter!" Tony feels like a broken record shouting the same thing, but he's getting frantic. He just wants to hold his kid and tell him everything will be okay.

"You can't just keep seeing him after you've finished fostering him, Mr. Stark. It isn't healthy for Peter and he's already upset enough," Amanda states in a firm tone. No nonsense, as always.

"You don't understand!" Tony feels like he's wasting time. He needs to bring Peter back home, give him Stebe, give him the happiness he deserves.

"I do. You signed for one week so-"

"I didn't sign anything!" he yells, charging past the woman. "Peter! Where's Peter?! Please!" He knows he has no right to see Peter after the way he initially treated him, but things are different now. Life without Peter…is like life without Pepper or Rhodey. Unimaginable. It's just not going to happen.

When he finally sees the door to the playroom, covered in the same colorful stickers, he rushes it and pulls it open.

"Mr. Stark…" Amanda says with a frustrated sigh. Tony is met with the same room he saw when he first came to meet Peter. He remembers how Peter was lying on his stomach reading a book. This time, Peter is sitting on the floor facing away from them, his head lowered and shoulders slightly trembling. Amanda watches Tony carefully, but doesn't stop him.

"Hey, Pete," Tony says softly as he approaches the kid. "We're gonna go home, okay?"

"Go away!" Peter suddenly yells, taking Tony off guard. Tony crouches to his level and continues to slowly advance.

"What's wrong, bud? I, I have Stebe here for you and we can go see Mom and Uncle Rhodey." At this point, he'll say anything to make Peter happy. His words must have reached Peter, because the toddler minutely turns his head to look at Stebe. "Yeah? You want Stebe? Here you go." Tony holds Stebe out to Peter, but he doesn't reach for it. Instead, his lip wobbles and Tony notices how red his eyes are.

"You gave me back! You said you wouldn't! You promised!" Peter screams, tears falling and soaking into the fabric on his shoulder. Tony's heart shatters in an instant. Had he done this? Had he hurt his kid that much? Seeing Peter so upset makes him want to hold the kid tight and never let go, so that's exactly what he does. He wraps his arms around Peter and pulls the kid close.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't do it. I swear I'd never get rid of you. Never," he promises in a whisper, but Peter fights against the embrace. Peter hits Tony's chest to get him to let go while yelling,

"No! You're a liar! You're a liar! I hate you!" Tony just holds him tighter, uncontrollable tears rolling down his own cheeks. He hates me. He hates me. He hates me. But I…

"I…" He steadies himself for what he's about to say, but there's no doubt in his mind. Not anymore. "I love you, kid. So damn much." He chokes out the words and his body wracks with barely controlled sobs. It doesn't matter what it takes, he'll never let Peter go again if it keeps the kid from this kind of pain and heartbreak.

Finally, Peter gives into the hug and stops fighting. He leans into Tony's chest and just cries. Tears soak Tony's shirt but he doesn't pay it any mind. He focuses on holding Peter tightly in his arms, hoping it gives the toddler the same sense of comfort.

"Eberyone always goes away. Momma and Daddy and you," Peter sobs, desperately grasping at Tony's shirt. Tony closes his eyes and pulls Peter closer, softly cradling the back of his head.

"Listen to me, Pete," he starts gently, "I promise you that your parents loved you so much. They didn't want to leave you. And I'm not going to leave you. You're the most important thing in the world to me and no matter what anyone else says, you're my son." It takes every ounce of strength he has to not break down as he speaks. The tears continue to flow and he sniffs, but he holds it together for Peter.

He fears the worst when Peter pulls away from the hug. The two look at each other for a brief moment and Tony finally sees how red and puffy Peter's eyes are. It feels like a stab to the heart. An unruly sob escapes Tony and his chest constricts. However, Peter reaches forward and gently wipes Tony's tears. Tony chuckles breathlessly, placing his hand over Peter's. Surprisingly, Peter smiles.

"I lub you too, Daddy." And by God, Tony swears his kid is perfect. He uses his free hand to brush Peter's hair away from his eyes and cup his face.

"You aren't hurt, are you?" If Obadiah touched one hair on his head. Thankfully, Peter shakes his head "no." Tony sighs a breath of relief and thanks whatever's out there that Peter wasn't hurt.

"Obi said you didn't want me," Peter whispers, his eyes tearing up again. Just like that, Tony's rage returns with a vengeance.

"Obadiah was a bad man, you hear me? He…wasn't nice and everything he said was a lie." He locks eyes with Peter to emphasize his words as much as possible.

"Eberything?" Peter asks hopefully.

"Everything," Tony confirms. He rubs his thumb over Peter's cheek. "Ready to go home, Munchkin?" The toddler nods and leans forward into Tony's chest again. Without a second thought, Tony lifts him up in his arms. Peter lays his head down on Tony's shoulder, utterly exhausted.

When Tony turns around, he notices Amanda smiling slightly. She opens the door for them and gestures them to go out first. With a nod of thanks, Tony walks out. The first thing he does when he sees the receptionist is demand the correct documents.

"I'm taking him with me. I want a set of adoption papers, I'll sign them right now," he orders stoically, not showing the emotion he just went through.

"That, that process takes time for-"

"Then get me some temporary guardianship papers or I'll fill out more foster papers," Tony counters as he tries to remain patient. "I'm not in the mood, so get me whatever it takes to let me legally take Peter with me." The receptionist quickly nods and places two stacks of forms in front of him. Even though he doesn't want to spend another second in the building, this time he reads every single word on every single page before signing. The first packet is a temporary guardianship form while the other is an adoption form, the latter of which he'll be taking home.

Finally, Tony and Peter leave the building and Tony walks straight to the truck. He knocks on the window of the back door and Rhodey unlocks it.

"How'd it go?" Rhodey questions cautiously as he eyes Peter.

"As well as it could have," Tony answers honestly as he gets Peter situated in the backseat. "But I got him, didn't I?" He buckles Peter into place before sliding in next to him.

"Hey, big man," Rhodey greets Peter with an encouraging grin. Peter does his best to keep his eyes from drooping.

"Hi, Uncle Rhodey," he tiredly mumbles. "Daddy, I don't have my seat." He looks up at Tony worriedly, who buckles himself in before shutting the door.

"Don't worry, bud. I'll keep you safe," Tony wholeheartedly assures. He puts his arm across Peter's chest the whole way home, just to make sure that nothing happens.

As soon as they walk up to the main floor of the mansion, Pepper is there in an instant enveloping Peter in a warm hug filled with comfort and strength. Peter hugs back as he's lifted into her arms and held firmly.

"I was so worried about you," Pepper confesses, followed by a sniff. "I missed you." She gently rocks them back and forth.

"I missed you, Momma." Peter's voice is muffled by Pepper's shoulder, but she hears it. They all do. And to think they've only known Peter for hardly over a week, but the past week has made a world of difference. Tony takes in the sight of his family and can't help the smile that takes over his face. He hasn't felt this happy in years. Rhodey clasps a hand on his shoulder.

"You did good, Tones," he commends. Tony chuckles and shrugs his shoulders.

"Well, when you're as smart and handsome as I am, it's hard to do any wrong," he brags, earning himself a playful eye roll from Rhodey. When Tony looks back to Pepper and Peter's meaningful hug, he can't help but tear up. He walks over, kisses Pepper's cheek, kisses the top of Peter's head, and hugs the both of them. "Come on, sweetums. This is a family hug and you're apart of this dysfunctional family whether you like it or not," he orders without remorse.

"Man, you wish," Rhodey laughs, but complies nonetheless, wrapping his arms around all of them. To Tony, things couldn't be more perfect.

"I lub you," Peter says from the center of the family hug. He doesn't say it to anyone in particular, but it goes unsaid that he meant it for all of them.

"We love you too, Pete," Tony reciprocates for all of them. He's never said truer words. In just one week, his life has been changed for the better and he feels like he has a true family. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for them and he can't wait to see the great person he knows Peter will grow up to be.

* * *

I may subject you all to a lot of angst, but I'll always end with a fluffy, happy ending :)

Myyyy goodness what a rollercoaster! But like I said, it's technically not over yet! The post-credit scene will probably come out sometime over the weekend so look forward to that :)

INFO REGARDING THE SEQUEL: the sequel isn't even started yet lol but I do have an overall premise for it. However, I'm currently working on the sequel to Pain Will Always Come Back to Haunt You and all the one shots for the dreaded In-Between (time between the multi-chapter stories).

If you'd like updates on the Spidey Tot sequel, the Pain Will Always Come Back to Haunt You sequel, and/or the one shots I have in the works, I suggest following my Instagram account kevy_fanfics :)

Thank you for reading as always and finishing the story! I'll see you in the future❤ 💛💚💙💜

If you'd like to keep up to date on upcoming fics and get sneak peeks, feel free to follow one of my accounts!  
Twitter: Kevy_Fanfics & kevy_grayce  
Insta: kevy_fanfics & KevyGrayce


	14. Post-Credits Scene: Running Out of Time

The time has come to cap off the story with a post-credits scene! In typical Marvel fashion, this will be a short, 500 word scene that hints at the next installment in the series. The sequel wont be coming anytime soon, but hopefully this will get you excited :)

Once again, thank you all so incredibly much for joining me on this journey, you've been absolutely incredible. Your reactions to cliffhangers are so much fun to read and I love how much you theorize about the plot! Thank you from the bottom of my heart 3000

Have fun and stay safe ❤ 💛💚💙💜

* * *

Tony sits in the workshop, halfheartedly tinkering with a project in front of him as he bounces Peter on his knee. He's thinking more than he's working, but he supposes that's why he comes down to the workshop at all these days. It's a quiet place to to solve his problems, which he has admittedly had a lot of. Luckily, his family isn't one of them.

"Daddy?" Peter speaks up, swinging his legs back and forth. He grabs the small hammer on the bench, Tony gently taking the object.

"Yeah, bud?" Tony instead gives him a small screwdriver to play with. Peter instantly accepts it and starts tapping the workbench with it.

"When are we gonna get ice cream?" he asks, boredom evident. Tony chuckles and shakes his head at the toddler's subtle coercion.

"When did I say we could have ice cream?" he plays along. It's hard to miss the way Peter smiles when he knows he's been caught.

"Earlier," the kid fibs in a sing song voice.

"I dunno," Tony draws out the word, finishing with tickling Peter's sides. Peter giggles loudly and tries to push the hands away. With a laugh of his own, Tony gives in a kisses the top of Peter's head. As he does so, his eyes lock onto his main unfinished project in the workshop. It continues to loom over him and fills him with a sense of impending doom.

A sense of dread.

_ Jericho. _

He doesn't know if he can get out of this one, but he has three years to try.

"Daddy?" Peter pulls him from his thoughts. He doesn't look away from the unfinished missile, but he does tuck Peter's head underneath his chin. Maybe he's trying to shield Peter from the cruel world, or maybe from the life he brought Peter into. A life of wars and political gain that he doesn't want to be a part of anymore.

"Yeah, baby boy?" Peter holds Tony's arms that are wrapped over his shoulders and around his chest.

"Are you gonna make sure Obi stays away?" The question makes Tony hold Peter tighter and he has to take a slow breath to calm himself.

"I promise he's not coming back. Ever," Tony reassures. If he has one goal in life, it's to make sure nothing ever happens to Peter again. He stands and tosses Peter up in the air, relishing in his son's wide smile and giggles, and places the kid on his hip. "So, about that ice cream…" he teases as he walks them out of the workshop.

"Banilla!" Peter doesn't hesitate to exclaim with his arms up, making Tony laugh. Finally, _ finally, _Tony feels happy. Content. Alive.

If only it could last.

One way or another, no matter where Tony is in the world or how much Peter loves him, the Ten Rings _ will _ accomplish their goal.

* * *

And there it is! The ending! I hope it gets you excited for the sequel and fills you with as much dread as it did Tony😇

Thank you for reading as always and finishing the story! I'll see you for the one shots❤ 💛💚💙💜

If you'd like to keep up to date on upcoming fics and get sneak peeks, feel free to follow one of my accounts!  
Twitter: Kevy_Fanfics & kevy_grayce  
Insta: kevy_fanfics & KevyGrayce


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